Finding the Child Within
by John Bullaro, Lead Evaluator
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Search & Rescue Unit
When was the last time you removed your shoes and socks and walked barefooted in a stream? Recalled your inner child that sat by a roaring campfire, roasted a hot dog, and laid on your back and looked skyward to see cloud pictures? Would you enjoy paddling a canoe across a placid lake and eating lunch on a far shore? If the thought of these past and present adventures seem appealing, read on.
These activities are within reach. They are available as a benefit of central coast living. They are not restrictive because of age, only desire. These outdoor adventures require minimal skills and no special physical conditioning, only a wish to leave structure behind and practice an adult form of play. The playground is what we will call "wilderness."
A wilderness experience can be a regenerative undertaking that restores a glow and balance to life. This can happen in the deep wilderness of Alaska, the Sierra, or near home. Today’s headlines can be frightening. Healthy adult play can mitigate these sad news releases by restoring stability to an unstable world, thus bringing new joy into our life. Remember, age is not a factor, only resolve.
Why is it important to reconnect with the inner child?
To answer that question, let’s look at a child. When a child plays - really engages in unstructured inner-directed play - expressions of joy and wonderment show on their faces. Children are natural explorers, curious people, unafraid to try new things. They show joy when they discover a seashell, a colorful rock, feel wind in their faces, share toys with friends, and frolic in a mud puddle. In true play, the child learns to share, negotiate, and experience their inner life. Conversely, Little League, Pop Warner football, tap dancing lessons, or martial arts training, for example, are structured, adult supervised activities that often produce stress in the child as they strive to achieve and please. These structured activities gain traction because they mimic work and other adult responsibilities.
By contrast, the emotions felt by a child in unstructured play better prepares them for adult responsibilities. Real, unstructured free play, prepares the child to live in the adult world by fostering introspection, cooperation, negotiation skills with co-players, and enhanced self worth. When an adult plays - really plays - they feel less stress, tend to engage in a healthier life style, and feel stronger physically and emotionally. Adult play can stimulates creative thinking and bring new levels of personal satisfaction.
Wilderness is what you say it is. Wilderness is an idea, a frame of mind, a place that can produce a state of grace. On a beautiful sunny day, just by feeling a cool breeze and warm sun on my face, I can have a mini-wilderness experience in my back yard.
There are times in the busy life of an adult when they yearn to recapture their inner child’s exploring mind. Work pressures, family responsibilities, mounting debt, and the race for status can all smother the inner child. These are highly structured duties. Engaging in unstructured activities (play) can release the joy of the inner child. All that is required here is resolve on the part of the adult to find their wilderness spot and play.
Henry David Thoreau wrote in 1849, "Our lives need the relief of the wilderness. In wildness is the preservation of the world."
We are never too old to recapture the child’s mind at play, if we are willing to expend a little energy to find our wilderness. Thoreau lived at Walden Pond when he wrote his seminal work, "Walden." He lived at Walden for a short while; Walden Pond was only a mile outside the city of Concord, Massachusetts.
Make a place in your life to get a little uncivilized. Shake off structure if for only a few hours or days. Find your wilderness place and visit it often. I wish you success in discovering your wilderness mind and your inner child.
Recommended reading:
"Walden" By Henry David Thoreau. Any edition
"Wilderness and the American Mind" by Roderick Frazier Nash, 4th Edition, 2001.
"Of Discovery & Destiny—An Anthology of American Writers and The American Land" Fulcrum, Inc. Golden Colorado, 1986. (May be hard to find, but worth the effort.)
John is an Emeritus Professor in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Studies from California State University, Northridge, and a retired Lecturer from Cal Poly. For thirty-four years he has taught classes in Commercial Recreation, Tourism Planning, Management and Leadership, and Wilderness Survival. He earned his Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University in Organizational Development and Curriculum Design in Higher Education.
John joined SLO search and rescue team in 1994. He moved to Los Osos in 1993 from Southern California, and now lives in Atascadero with wife, Cynthia. He completed California's Managing The Search Function and the Air Force's Inland Search & Rescue Planning. He is a National SAR trainer, and an EMT. John is a current member of the Atascadero Writer's Club and can be contacted by calling 805-440-9529 or at JohnBullaro@slocoastjournal.com.
Wolf image on banner by Don Joseph.
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