Part I
I love this for a few reasons.
We don't compare ourselves to anyone else. We only compare who we are now to who we want to be.
It requires us to love and care for ourselves like someone else we naturally love and care for, someone whom we see possibilities and potential in. Like a child, and the joy in seeing our child grow. Same same but different. Just inwards instead of outwards.
It's a journey that doesn't end until we do, and maybe then some.
It's what makes me look forward to each morning, because there are so many things I want to be slightly better at each day. My mind, my body, my emotions, my knowledge, my abilities, my words, my thoughts, my work, my relationships, my actions, my time.
I screw up, make mistakes and fail most of the time, and sometimes get one or two right, knowing I have the chance to do it again the next morning, until I don't.
It's a wonderful thing.
Part II
It's hard to get bored. Frustrating at times yes, especially when the programming is strong, but never bored. Exasperated on occasions, but it's good reason for reflection and digging deeper.
The funny thing is the deeper and more we dig, the brighter it becomes. Light gets in.
I don't have children. But I imagine it would be the similar to raising a child of our own. The love that never goes away, the joy you feel when they are at their best, and the sadness you feel when they are hurt. How you would hold and comfort them when they falter, how you would gently teach and guide them when they make mistakes. How you would hold space for them to laugh and cry, and defend them against bullies and the wicked. How your heart swells when you see them grow, and how proud you are when they learn and become better at what they do, at what they love, and they explore the world.
How happy you are when they are happy.
It's the same thing, but with ourselves.
That, is our inner child. Let it speak, and help it grow. It's a beautiful one.
Yeah baby.