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I read a quote from Deepak Chopra recently.

He said, “See the world as if for the first time; see it through the eyes of a child, and you will suddenly find that you are free.” And it made an impact and caused me to look inward and appreciate the truth in that statement.

You have likely found yourself in places (playground, fairground, grocery store, and so on) where you have halfway observed or at least noticed a small child merely going about their day. It is incredible how they truly live in the moment and are 100 percent present and emerged in whatever task or activity they have assigned themselves. No care in the world until an adult interferes for multiple reasons.

But when you look closely, you can see they might pause or deviate for a fleeting moment just to dive right back into their “perfectly” assembled scenario of their imaginary world. Unless they are already “addicted” to the digital world, their pure imagination cannot compete with any visionary creations. I am jealous! Truly.

And I am in awe; children are not yet confined by societal standards. They can still “get away” with making mistakes, having imaginary friends, and none of their words and sentences must make any sense. Everything they do and say is welcomed without questioning and dare I say it: encouraged.

There’s no judgement on their part; they see people based on their actions and reactions at this moment, unbiased from past mistakes and shortcomings. Children see things as they are. The mind and beliefs are not clouded by other people’s opinions of a person.

Children may not have lived life for long, but their simplistic perspective provides insight we can all benefit from.

Kids remind us of how simple life can be and how important it is to sometimes just accept what is without instantaneously looking for solutions to a potential problem that may or may not occur soon based on the momentary obstacle. They remind us life is wonderful and magical. Their first encounter of absolutely anything is an opportunity for us adults to recapture our own “firsts”—a butterfly, a red balloon, a lion, the scent of a flower, the taste of hot chocolate with whipped cream, bumping fists with our favorite cartoon characters, receiving our first piece of candy while going trick-or-treating, the flicker of a candle, or just the pure magic of the morning fog lifting off the ground, or seeing the frost covering the landscape in a white-powdered dusting.

Once we get older, life grabs us by the arms and pulls us onto all sorts of different tracks with a full-packed itinerary of tasks, duties, and responsibilities for ourselves and others. It becomes increasingly difficult to “stop and smell the roses” because society has dictated that we always must be on the move, need to produce and deliver on results, and play by the rules or else.

But when you finally take a break, do me a favor: unplug completely and go for a walk outside and be present. Observe, see, smell, absorb every single image. Just watch. Do not judge and start analyzing; become the invisible person and move through each scene silently and gracefully. You may be surprised by the evoked emotions—good and bad, happy and sad, regretful and inspired. Feel all of it.

In the process of walking with the cloak of invisibility, you get to reconnect with your true self. No judgement, no expectations, no “to-do” list or responsibility—just you, yourself, and your thoughts. Every time you “check out,” you get to hit “reset” on your own person and start with a newfound perspective and mindset.

The joy we observe in small kids and the ease they move through their day is something we can capture for ourselves—if we allow it.

Give yourself permission every day to “walk out” of your role of the parent, employee, caretaker, and so on, and find joy in the trivial things we often overlook as adults.

Recreate the magic of even the most unimportant things—the way the sun peaks through the branches, the squirrel chasing the rabbit, the noise of coffee percolating, the sound of the ocean waves hitting the pier, the laughter of people around you, or the shape of the clouds. We bypass these scenes every single day because we are stuck in our routines, as if we live life on an assembly line.

Let those small kids remind you by their mere presence and unclouded actions that life at its core is good and can be good if we let it in versus letting it exist outside of us. See the world, as often as possible, through the eyes of a child, and you too can experience the magic of each moment.

It certainly beats the regret most people have much later in life. So go ahead and free yourself!

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