I think that most of the world’s problems would probably go away if we could remember what it’s like to be a child.A child doesn’t know they’re supposed to hate. A child doesn’t know there are limitations on what they can do in their life. A child doesn’t know there are bad people in the world. A child doesn’t have all of those things that adults have that make adults truly dreadful people sometimes.I might over-quote my favorite band, Pearl Jam, on this blog, but here’s another absolutely perfect lyric: All that’s sacred, comes from youth.If we remembered what it was like to be a child, the world would be different in more ways than we can imagine. Some very particular problems that are in the news today wouldn’t exist. But perhaps the most thrilling experience would be if we could inhabit their dreams.I’m not talking about wanting to be President, or walking on the moon, or living in a house filled with M&M’s. I’m talking about the dreams that fill their head every night.As a father to four kids, I can tell you that kids dream about some absolutely crazy things. I love talking to my four-year-old daughter and asking her what she dreamed about. Sometimes she remembers and she relays the dreams to me, and they’re frequently so bizarre that it seems like she might have eaten some hallucinogenic jelly for breakfast.And those are just the dreams she remembers. Imagine the dreams she forgets!This morning she told me that she dreamed about Santa Claus bringing everyone presents. Okay, that’s normal enough. But she also had a bad dream last night, which she wasn’t going to mention until my wife asked her about it.The bad dream was about her brother eating bugs. No big deal, but it reminded me of a dream she had a few months ago in which the same brother had a third eye. The poor girl was traumatized by this dream to such an extent that she literally refused to look at her brother for the next few days. She still doesn’t want to be left alone in the bathroom when a bath towel with a three-eyed alien is hanging on the towel rack.When my oldest daughter was eight or nine years old she’d wake up an hour or two after going to bed, come downstairs, and stare at us, then start speaking gibberish. My wife and I would try to wake her, but often she would just stop talking, mutter something, and go back upstairs to sleep. In the morning she’d have no recollection of ever having gotten out of bed.Scary.A few years ago, when my youngest son was three or four years old, he told my wife and me that a guy came to see him in the middle of the night. We were a bit freaked out by that, so we asked him some more details. He said the guy would come and play in his room and they’d have a lot of fun. Then he’d go away, and come back the next night.What…The…Hell!A few days later he revealed to us that the guy who came to play at night was Jack Skellington, a character from The Nightmare Before Christmas. He mentioned Jack’s nighttime visits numerous times after that, but at some point they just petered out.About two months ago I went upstairs to check on my sons before I went to bed. They were sound asleep in their beds. I fixed the covers on my oldest son’s bed and he stirred a little bit, looked at me, and said, “What’s that? You want it to be quiet? Here, how about I give you some rattles?”I’m not sure, but I think my son just threatened to beat the crap out of me!I’d love to spend an evening in a place that produces the sort of nonsense my kids have exhibited. And yes, we all have weird dreams sometimes, but children have a unique perspective that’s forever gone once it’s lost.We often think that children have so much to learn, but maybe they’re actually smarter than we are. Adults complicate things. We think we know what’s best. We’re “wise.” But children just are. They exist to exist, just like everything else in the world.Except human adults.Hey, did you like reading this? If so, you should Share it on Facebook so you can bring joy to others. You can also find tons of other posts by me here.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++For lots of other dreamy things you should Like my Facebook page, Brett Baker Writes right now! Please.
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