When I was a little girl I loved to write, creating stories was pure joy. In fact my stories didn’t have to even be written down, I would create a story with many chapters in my mind alone. As I child I didn’t care what others thought of me, so I would happily act out my stories with Barbie Dolls, or sit in the garden and tell the plants and trees my stories. We used to go camping a lot, I would just wander by myself and have amazing adventures just me and my imagination. It wasn’t that I had to amuse myself, I had 3 siblings, a huge extended family, and I always had loads of great friends. But I loved the times when I was alone, just me and my wild, and endless imagination.
photo credit #mummyshot from @onelittlebearltd
My imagination was both a gift, and an enemy of sorts. A child with a great imagination has a wonderful childhood, but when I would imagine scary things, they seemed all to real. Many a night I would end up in-between my parents terrified of a witch, or the man who was trying to kind-nap me in my imagination. One thing is for sure though, I can not imagine my life without stories, even all those years that I stopped writing, there was always a story itching to be written, I was just ignoring them. (Which is why I felt so unfulfilled).
The great thing about children is that they don’t overthink the things they love to do. They simply play things because they enjoy them, children explore because they are naturally curious, and life is full of possibilities. Children don’t need to be told to be curious, or imaginative, they just are, they are lead by pure joy, excitement and fascination. I never questioned what I enjoyed when I was a child, I loved to create stories, and so I just did. But then you grow up, and somehow you begin to tell yourself that you need to put your imagination on hold, you need to be a responsible adult with realistic expectations, and you have responsibilities far beyond just having fun. Somehow you convince yourself that those childhood dreams were just that, dreams.
Well that’s what I did, I forgot about my dream to write, well in truth the dream wasn’t really forgotten, it was buried under self doubt, adult responsibilities and the thought that childhood dreams are just silly, self indulgent and unrealistic. As if I could write! As if anyone would ever want to read anything I had to say!
But what if I was able to time travel, to go back as an adult and meet ‘me‘ as a child? If I sat and watched that little girl as she told her stories to the trees, and wrote endless words down in her notebook, if I saw the sparkle in her eyes, and the way she lived and breathed the characters she created, could I really tell her she was nothing but a silly dreamer? If I could give her advice what would I tell her? Could I look into her big brown eyes and crush her spirit? Or would I encourage her, tell her the world is full of endless possibilities? Would I tell her that she should never give up her dreams?
photo credit #mummyshot @otisandus.blog
Do you remember what you loved doing when you were a child? So often we feel empty, we search endlessly for our purpose, or try to figure out what we are passionate about, but for most of us the answer we search for is just hidden under those layers of self doubt, and the layers of adulthood. If you want to know what you are passionate about, just remember. Remember the things you loved before you grew up, remember the things that you were curious about, the things you spent hours imagining, or acting out through play. The answers there, if you are willing to look.
Lately I have been distracted from working on my fictional writing, and I have been missing it terribly. Today I pulled out my writing, and lost myself amongst the words, and it felt amazing. So today I wanted to remind you to embrace your childhood dreams, embrace the things you love. Don’t think too hard, just be followed by your curiosity and excitement. Life is meant to be enjoyed!
let your curiosity guide you in life . . . . what adventures await? The possibilities are endless.
Photo credit #mummyshot @anoutdoorsfamily
My favourite #mummyshot photos this week embrace and capture the joy, and curiosity of childhood beautifully.
Top Left is by @mummyandmooseblog. Top Right is from @squirmypopple.
Bottom Left is by @hotpinkwellingtons. Bottom Right is from @rainbowsaretoobeautiful
Thank you to everyone who joins our mummy shot community, we just love looking through all the beautiful images.
My favourite from Catie’s IG #mummyshot this week is
my own favourite this week is
If you would like more information about what #MummyShot is you can read “Introducing Mummy Shot”
What were you passionate about as a child? I’d love you to share them with me in the comments below. Do you still follow your dreams?
Thanks for joining me, love Mac xx
You can find me on Instagram @macglanville
#mg link up is back. Hope you can join me, stop by Monday, through until Thursday to link up.
Also don’t forget to tag me with #livingfearlesslyauthentic with any real life photos you share on Instagram. Only Rule is ‘Real Life!’
Each Monday I share my #livingfearlesslyauthentic roundup.
7 comments
Thank you, what a wonderful post
Thank you so much x
Beautiful photos. Yes, so important to connect with our true desires – and to let our kids hang on to theirs, too.
Lovely post. Trying to hold onto our dreams and nurture our children’s is so important. And soo hard!
I love this Mac, I think I sacrificed so many of my passions when I had the children and it is only in recent years that I discovered them again – my writing especially. Such an inspiring post as always. #mg
I wanted to be nurse Nancy from Twinkle but alas I didn’t get the grades to work in that profession.#mg
Yes, all of this! It’s such a shame that our adult selfs have to stamp on our childhood dreams isn’t it? And then as I tell my daughter that she can try anything she wants to, I wonder why I wasn’t told that… My answer is that I think people thought differently back then. I’ve begun to think differently now and I also miss writing as much as I’d like to! Thanks for hosting #mg
Comments are closed.