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“How to rethink our projects turned upside down by the coronavirus ?”

To listen to the  interview between the journalist Pauline Rappaz and Eve Allemand, broadcast on May 4, 2020 during la Matinale (1m53), click on this link.

Rediscovering your child’s soul

How many times have you wondered what people would think of you if someone caught you dancing in front of your bathroom mirror while listening to your favorite music, or if you were caught raving loudly faced with one of the many small miracles of nature like a harmonious flight of starlings?

 The real question is when did we leave aside our child’s soul, that which allowed us to be ourselves 100%, which allowed us to live our emotions freely without fear of judgment or reprimand ?

It was around the age of 7-8 that the child that we were gradually began to learn to control his emotions and accept responsibility for his or her actions.

At this point, the child gradually understands that each of his/her actions has consequences and that he cannot necessarily do what he wants at any time or in any way without him There are no repercussions (for example, he will learn that putting the cat in the washing machine will not lead him to develop excellent future relationships with his playmate).

However, the child may have been reprimanded a little too harshly without really understanding why he was being scolded. What he would really need, however, is that we take the time to explain to him why it is not a good idea to put the cat in the washing machine and to listen sympathetically to the reason for its action.

The child needs to be understood. To do this, adults do their best to validate their emotions by reflecting what they are going through while accompanying them in their experience.

However, it often happens that we have not received this kindness or this listening from the adults around us. Even when we wanted to share feelings of joy, like when we proudly showed our cute papa sculpture we made at school in papier-mâché, it sometimes happened that we were also reprimanded without really understanding why. 

This accumulation of reprimands and judgments will accumulate over time over time. We will slowly internalize these judgments and become ourselves the inveterate judge of our actions, even the most minimal.

This is how for many of us, we have given way to responsible and serious adults, sometimes even we have to say that they are a bit boring, while gradually putting aside our pretty little child soul filled with creativity and life.

If you even find yourself a little in this description, then you tell yourself that it may be time to go look for your inner little girl or boy to put more lightness and cheerfulness in your life.

There are many little pleasures in life that allow us to immerse ourselves in the present moment in which children are and that when we become adults we have neglected because of other more important and serious things to the detriment to our joie de vivre. 

Here is a list of these little pleasures forgotten from our childhood and that I invite you to practice without moderation:

• To swing
• Dance to your favorite music without thinking about the movements your body is making
• Stop on your way to look at the trees or smell the flowers
• Draw
• Do a sport you liked to play
• Play or learn to play a musical instrument
• Sing on your favorite music to lose your voice in your car
• Camp under the stars and observe shooting stars (July-August is the best time to see them)
• Take a walk in the forest while awakening your 5 senses (little advice: put your laptop in airplane mode)
• Go to a kennel to observe the animals and take some in your arms
• Laugh often, even without reason 
• On a rainy day, put on rubber boots and go jump in puddle
• Do something new by daring to make a mistake
• Give someone a free compliment
• The list is endless and I suggest you take a look at the children around you for 100 more examples, as they are surprisingly very inspiring.

You will almost certainly feel like you are being silly or weird when you do any of these exercises. It is normal, your interior judge is there to remind you that you are not there to waste your time on trivialities and must take your seriousness a little. Kindly tell him that you recognize him and thank him for making you grow up as a responsible adult. However, today, tell him that you decide to give back space to your inner child and bring back the zest for life that you have always had inside you and which was just waiting for permission to speak again.

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