Last update: January 24, 2015
We all carry within us the child that we were. Taking care of him is vital to improve our emotionality and maintain a healthy self-esteem.
Almost everyone as a child suffered from emotional wounds which, if we did not resolve at that moment, hurt the child in us. Now we can try to understand what happened to him, to cure him.
When you feel a negative emotion, ask yourself why you feel this way and try to understand yourself, to find ways to improve that negativity. That child inside of you needs love and acceptance.
Exercise to heal the child within us
Imagine your childhood. What were you like when you were about 8? Try to visualize yourself physically and, if you struggle, you can look at some photos to refresh your memory and capture as much detail as possible.
Now do a visualization and imagination exercise. Imagine yourself as a child, in your room, alone: what did you do when you were alone? Imagine that stage of childhood, go back to the past and remember every detail. What furniture was in the room, what color, what were you playing with, etc.
The more real details you insert into the scene, the better the effect of the exercise will be. Now think of yourself as you are now, and imagine entering the room you had as a child. Open the door and find a child who looks down, unsure. That child is you as a child.
In the room you are, as you are now, accompanied by a child, who is the "you" of your childhood. And what is this for? To heal the wounds of your past. Now that you are an adult you can talk to that child, caress him, heal him, using your imagination.
Get close to that hurt, sensitive, fearful and ask him what happens to him. Now you can understand him, kiss him, hug him, give him protection, support, love. Do it: Treat yourself as you would have liked them to treat you as a child.
Give him affection and understanding, hug him tightly and tell him that from now on he is safe, because you will take care of him as he deserves.
Play with him, let him have fun, let his spontaneity come out. Keep imagining and visualizing taking that child where he wants it. What was the place you most liked to go to as children? What wishes have you never fulfilled? What affections have you lacked?
Now you can give that child what he wants. Go out and have fun, and when your inner child feels motivated and happy, go back to the room. Leave him there safe and say hello, telling him that whenever he needs it you will come back to help him, understand him and give him love.
The effects of the imagination
If you have completed the exercise and put your imagination to work, you will have realized that your most insecure, cruel and fearful parts come from that child. Try to take care of him, love him and accept him, and you will notice emotional improvements, as well as an increase in self-esteem.
Adults who have a healthy baby inside of them do not repress themselves when they feel like doing something that is not "adult", such as taking a walk in the park and getting on a swing. They don't care that people look at them badly.
Adults with a sick child inside of them, on the other hand, repress themselves when they have typical childhood wishes. They want to convey a correct, serious, adult image, without realizing that we are all human and we need to go back to childhood every now and then. There's nothing wrong with that, we're not immature: we're just letting the baby inside us have fun.
Adults who have children can return to entertain the child in them when they play with their children. Who has never heard of "The father of the son has more fun with that game ..."? On the other hand, those who do not have children often tend to hold back when they have to carry out "childish" activities.
He no longer kicks the ball, he doesn't laugh at stupid things, he feels that he has to behave like an adult and that others are immature.
But the truth is that there is nothing healthier than letting the child in you be spontaneous. Don't repress him, adulthood also needs to bring out the funny side of her every now and then.
Image courtesy of José Miguel
