We continue with week 10 in the final 100 days of the year of becoming fully alive after a two-week pause following the passage of my mama.
It’s perfectly fitting that I would arrive on the other side of this grief with the assignment to explore the tenderest territory, the young parts of ourselves. This week we visit our inner kid at approximately age four.
You’re not experiencing yourself as the kid, you’re inviting the kid part of you to show themselves so you might have an experience with them. Imagine there are two selves – the now version and the kid version – conversing.
If you struggle to get something to happen with this exercise, you’re trying too hard. All you need do is set aside this time to love on the little one within you. Trust that’s enough.
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Good morning, Today we enter into the tenderest territory and visit our inner child. Even if you have no clear memories, you’ve likely seen photos of you around age four. We aren’t seeking to remember old memories anyway, we’re seeking to re-encounter and make new memories with your inner child. The point of this exercise isn’t to reach any goal or get anything to happen. The only point is to strengthen awareness of this part of yourself. Begin by finding a comfortable place to sit or lie. Call into your mind a place that’s happy and 100% comfortable for the young one in you. It doesn’t need to be a place they ever visited, but it does need to be somewhere they feel totally safe to be themselves. Feel yourself, the adult you, now in this happy place. Sense the temperature, the air, the smells. Feel the textures. Settle yourself here. Now invite the presence of the young you. Send lots of gratitude and love to them regardless of what’s happening or not happening in this happy place. Trust that they’ve heard you calling their name. Trust that they can feel your love beaming over to them. Invite them to show themselves to you. It’s ok if they’re shy and don’t. See if you can feel their presence anyway. Listen to hear if they say anything. Check to see if they’ve left any presents or if there are objects in the happy space with you. Even if you can’t perceive them, tell them how much you love them and what a good little being they are. Let this movie play and do whatever it will do. Approve of whatever is happening or not happening. Now it’s time to start wrapping up. You can let them know you’ll come back and visit. If they’re open to it, give them a big hug.