We arrived here as explorers.
Nobody had to teach us curiosity.
Nobody had to teach us wonder.
Then somebody told us to GROW UP.
Maybe we grew up a little too much.
We are born into discovery and adventure without training, instructions or even the asking.
Watch a little kid.
Something catches the eye.
What’s that?
They move toward it.
They touch it, turn it over, smell it, shake it, question it and sometimes put the darn thing in their mouth.
A quest has begun.
That is LIFE in one of its purest forms.
THE RITE OF PASSAGE
Remember toy soldiers, dolls, jacks, yo-yos, Frisbees, kites, comic books, cartoons, bicycles, balls and ice cream?
Nobody had to explain how to enjoy them.
You naturally gravitated toward something and then something marvelous happened:
YOU GOT LOST IN IT.
We called it FUN.
What a funny little word.
Say it slowly sometime:
F-U-N.
We spend an awful lot of adulthood trying to buy back something children receive free.
THAT IS SOME GOOD PLAYING
I remember playing outside as a kid and suddenly looking up only to discover it had gotten so dark you couldn’t play anymore.
Where did the time go?
It disappeared because you weren’t watching the clock.
You were IN the experience.
Either darkness ended the adventure or somebody’s mother finally called:
COME IN! IT’S TIME FOR SUPPER!
That’s how absorbed children become in discovery.
There is a Pearl hiding in that.
When was the last time you became so interested in LIFE that you forgot to check the time?
I DON’T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL
Then structure begins.
School.
Chores.
Schedules.
Responsibilities.
I thought school was pretty interesting until they introduced homework.
That was a school killer for me.
I didn’t mind participating while I was there, but after school belonged to ME.
Homework?
Yuck!
AW-GROW-UP
Eventually cartoons lose some of their magic and another world begins calling.
Real life.
The transition happens so gradually we hardly notice it.
Then comes that famous instruction:
GROW UP.
And we do.
Nothing wrong with growing up.
The trouble begins when growing up becomes giving up everything that made being young so wonderfully ALIVE.
THE WORKPLACE
Eventually we enter the serious world.
WORK.
We trade our time, skills and effort for money.
We have responsibilities.
Bills arrive with remarkable consistency.
People depend upon us.
Nothing wrong with that either.
Work can provide dignity, contribution, purpose and satisfaction.
But somewhere along the journey, many people begin living almost entirely inside obligation.
Wake up.
Work.
Pay.
Worry.
Sleep.
Repeat.
And the explorer quietly disappears.
Or does he?
ENOUGH OF THIS
Notice something interesting.
After spending enough time in WORK mode, what do people begin looking forward to?
The weekend.
Vacation.
Time off.
After work.
Why?
Something inside us knows we weren’t designed to remain permanently in one mode.
We need room to wander.
To discover.
To play.
To do something simply because:
I WONDER WHAT’S OVER THERE?
DON’T COMPROMISE TOO MUCH
Now let’s return to where we began.
DISCOVERY AND ADVENTURE.
If we permanently shut these down, I believe we compromise part of the life experience.
We were created to inquire.
To seek.
To learn.
To experiment.
To observe.
To receive.
To participate.
And occasionally to wander somewhere without needing to turn it into an accomplishment.
Not everything needs a profit.
Not everything needs a goal.
Not everything needs to improve your résumé.
Sometimes the reward for seeing what is around the bend…
is seeing what is around the bend.
FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS
Along the journey, you discovered certain gifts.
Things you could do.
Things you enjoyed doing.
Things other people noticed in you.
Some worked.
Some didn’t.
Some doors opened.
Others closed.
That’s discovery too.
Life is constantly showing us where we fit if we remain awake enough to notice.
Keep applying those gifts.
Keep experimenting.
Keep contributing.
You don’t have to know everything about yourself before participating.
Sometimes you discover who you are by watching what comes alive when you DO something.
BECOME AN EXPLORER — AGAIN
Here is my invitation.
Bring some discovery back.
Take another road.
Walk somewhere you’ve never walked.
Talk to somebody you normally pass.
Look closely at a flower.
Watch an animal.
Visit a neighborhood you’ve never explored.
Learn something simply because it interests you.
Look through a telescope.
Pick up a rock.
Watch the clouds.
Ask WHY again.
Ask WHAT’S THAT again.
Ask WHAT’S OVER THERE again.
The world didn’t become less interesting.
We became busy.
IT’S YOU!
And then something wonderful can happen.
You meet that KID again.
Not childishness.
I am talking about that original explorer.
The one who could marvel without embarrassment.
The one who didn’t require a reason to investigate something.
The one who could turn an ordinary afternoon into an adventure.
That kid never completely disappeared.
Maybe adulthood just piled a few things on top of him.
Move some of them aside.
There you are.
Life is still calling.
The earth is still presenting its mysteries.
There are still roads you haven’t traveled, people you haven’t met, places you haven’t seen, questions you haven’t asked and moments you haven’t experienced.
You are not finished discovering.
And LIFE isn’t finished presenting itself.
Go explore.
Have some fun.
And when somebody asks what you’re doing…
tell them Richie said you’re conducting important research.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
Been expecting you