As life happens………… Gain some, Lose some!

Life, they say, is the biggest teacher. As one grows in life, literally and metaphorically, one accumulates a vast range of experiences and if traditional wisdom is to be believed, it is these experiences that sum up an individual’s personality and mindset at any given point in time. Good or bad, every experience or stage in life comes with lessons of its own  and these lessons or leanings are the only things that seem to have some semblance of permanence around them .Life itself is, anyways, changing face every second chance it gets !

So, as they say, we learn and mature as we grow. Now while maturity of mind/heart is not something that can be defined as easily as the maturity of a fixed period investment , there are some things which are generally acceptable as standards of mature, positive grown up behaviour …an open mind, a thoughtful approach, an unbiased attitude, an acceptance of situations / people, an ability to look back and laugh at mistakes,  an appreciation for choices- own and others’, a confidence to forge ahead, a grit to not give up, a broadening of horizons,  an increasing self awareness, a decreasing self obsession,an ownership of actions, a sense of responsibility……these are just few aspects of maturity. And needless to say, life’s failures are often much better teachers than success in propelling one onto a path of a mature and learned mind. Success, no doubt, teaches us what it takes to succeed but then, its mostly failures that act as a humbling force and push us to being more grown up and balanced (?) individuals.

However, is life’s journey all about gains? Do we lose something as we make our way through our lives? A child is blessed with an untainted heart and a blank slate of mind ( if we ignore the previous  birth stories doing the rounds !).What this means is that a child’s response to things or situations is totally based on imagination, intuition,trust , instinct and not some half cooked notions of what should be done or is appropriate or worthy of the situation. There is nary a worry in a child’s mind and there is a vast ocean of possibilities awaiting…..Endless  curiosity,careless abandonment, gullible trust, merry imagination …these are some of the endearing qualities about being an “unlearned” or “unadulterated “ child that makes them totally adorable to our adult selves !

Blessed is a child’s mind and heart as to not be bothered by sometimes nasty ,sometimes complex emotions like biases, blocks, chicanery, adultery ,shame,blame,calculated actions ,careful deliberations etc ….

…All of which a growing up child or an adolescent would knowingly or unknowingly  gain or be forced to adopt as a survival instinct in the big bad world ………..

And a grown up adult?

Well, in a quest for maturity, the adult mind loses the childlike adorability! Innocence takes a backseat…. care and caution become the key mantras! But being the complex devious creatures we are, do we give up easily?

No Sirree! The quest continues and wants to embrace both maturity and innocence! No doubt, growth enriches us and moves us away from a state of blissful ignorance to a more empowered knowledge based existence. A more advanced state of maturity even helps us become better human beings !Still, don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that once in a while, every adult craves to throw maturity and caution to the wind and go back to a state of childlike innocence and bliss! 

As someone rightly said “People don’t really grow up. They just learn to behave in public! “