Dancing in the Rain
One of the greatest memories I’ve had this semester was dancing in the rain with four kids. I was over at their house for dinner and a huge lightning storm broke out. All of a sudden one of the kids ran out the front door into the rain. Most parents, at least the ones I know, would be yelling at their kid to get back in the house out of fear of the lightning, but instead, in this instance, the mom encouraged the kid’s curiosity of the storm. So, I ran out with him. We danced and laughed, catching raindrops in our mouths. We jumped and splashed in puddles. We got drenched but it was worth it because I haven’t felt that fully alive in a long time.
There’s something about when we grow up that we let our curiosity and wonder deplete itself. There’s no one to tell us to do this, so why does it happen? I think our society has been so conditioned to grow up fast and leave all immaturity behind. Right? Because childlikeness equals immaturity. Especially in college we are forced to leave all childlikeness behind and pick up responsibility and become “adults.” Though it is totally valid that we do have to take on some sort of responsibility and to grow, I want to argue that holding onto our childlikeness is the key to living an advantageous life.
I think of my parents who are in their mid-60s and are now empty nesters. For the most part they go to work from 9am to 5pm, come home, cook dinner, watch the news, and go to bed to wake up and do it all over again. If this is what growing old is going to be like, I’m sorry, but I do not want to get old. I don’t want to live this mundane life of only working. I want to mature with age, but never lose the wonder and curiosity of a child. Again, there is a compromise to live in moderation and not through your 9 to 5 job out the window, but what I’m saying here is to engage our imagination to dream of a full life.
But for real, when was the last time you danced in the rain or laid in the grass to watch the clouds go by? When was the last time you engaged your imagination or dreamed? At least for me, it’s been a long time. I’ve gotten so caught up in compartmentalizing my life and only going so far as to check the boxes off my to-do list. I’m not sure how to go about preserving your childlikeness, so I’m sorry if that’s why you’ve kept reading, but maybe it really does just start with saying yes to dancing in the rain with four little kids.
Good Company is a ministry at the University of Kansas. We seek to bring authentic connection in a world of AirPods.
Connect with Us
Instagram | Facebook