From Child to Adult & Back Again

As we grow older I believe we have to confront another side of ourselves. This side I lovingly call, “The Adult”. It is one thing to embrace our child-like demeanor and play with the resources that we feel are somehow owed to us; it is quite another to rejoice in making decisions that ‘the Adult’ in us realizes as a wise utilization of our own resources. We are all a great wealth of knowledge. Once we learn that we have skills and passions, we become eager to provide the world-at-large with those skills. We no longer have to shirk responsibility to have a good time. Rather we can reward ourselves by being responsible. We can relish in the delight that what we are responsible for actually defines who we are as a person.
Our responsibilities give us boundaries like the sides of a puzzle piece, which then help us fit into the great puzzle we call life. Sure we may have some jagged edges or blind curves, but all puzzle pieces do. These may feel like hindrances to a person desiring a smooth fit. Yet, I have come to see these sides of myself as accentuations to my inner beauty rather than an undesirable part of myself. For every puzzle piece holds within it a clue to the larger picture. It may not seem like it all the time, but we do all fit together in some mysterious way. Once we accept this, we may be able to slowly piece together the greater picture that we all hold.
That being said, we all have moments where we vacillate between being the playful ‘Child’ and the consummate ‘Adult’. At times, the ‘Child’ within needs to be honored and it is easy to do this within the safety of sacred space. At other times, the ‘Adult’ needs to make major decisions, which are best considered in a self-reflective ritual. It is the ability to shift from one to the other that can help many Pagans become more comfortable living in the world-at-large. What better time of year to celebrate both the ‘Adult’ and ‘Child’ within each of us? Ostara marks the beginning of the spring season and new growth after a long winter. Perhaps cultivating our personal transitions from being the responsible ‘Adult’ to being a playful ‘Child’ can help us celebrate this spring.

With spring light,
Lady Jessicå, the Moonmaiden