Kids Have More Fun

By Mike Johnson

Kids are far happier than adults.

This isn't exactly a big secret, just look around at any event that brings all age groups together. A family reunion, a wedding or a block party will all reveal the same thing -- kids are enjoying themselves far more than the adults.

Yea, yea, yea, I know what you're thinking. Kids don't have as many responsibilities as adults, they don't have to bring home a paycheck, they don't have to deal with the government, drive in traffic, compromise with a marriage partner. Kids have it made.

But what really makes kids far happier than adults comes from something else they don't have -- a past.

Adults have a huge past. And they don't hesitate to use it as their navigation for the future.

A kid gets in a fight with his buddy today, yet can approach tommorow with a fresh outlook that allows them to be buddies again.

An adult has a fight and then treats that person with a wary eye for the rest of her life.

A kid will fail at a cartwheel 1,000 times until they master it.

An adult will try once or twice -- in an area where no one can see -- and then give up if it doesn't work on the third try.

A kid believes they can be anything in the world they desire. They believe in imagination.

An adult looks to past failures and concludes he's just not capable of becoming that sports star, television actor or business owner. He believes his past determines his future.

A kid has nothing to hide. She'll run naked across the yard, ask embarrassing questions, or blurt immediate reactions to other kid's comments.

An adult hides plenty. He doesn't want to appear different, odd or emotional. Best to keep those reactions hidden where they can be analyzed before showing them to the world.

A kid is too young to have failed a driver's test, get fired from a job or have a lover split with someone else.

An adult remembers each of these hurts in the present, and lets them color his future, even though they occurred in the past.

Kids are far happier than adults because they're carrying far less baggage around with them.

It seems that for most of us, the longer we live, the less we live.

Those happiest are not those who've learned the most, it's those who've forgotten the most.

Adults are tenacious at holding onto our pasts. Even though memories are just invisible thoughts in our heads, we use them to pound ourselves relentlessly, turning mere thoughts into physical manifestations - disease, limited lives and pre-mature aging.

The cure to a stymied life is no farther away than a good case of amnesia. If we awoke with no memory of the past, or merely the ability to detach ourselves from it, we'd then be totally free to take any action we wanted today. There'd be no fear of duplicating past pains. In short, the invisible bars we navigate within would lift and we'd be free to try anything again.

Like allowing ourselves to enjoy the natural and effortless happiness of a child.

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Mike Johnson is an energetic writer & entrepreneur. Learn more about Mike's offerings at www.MikeJohnson.biz