Why do we have to grow up? Have you ever thought about that? The answer for many of us is yes. I think we have all thought about it at some point in our lives. Whether it be when we are young and don't want to leave our favorite elementary teacher; or when we're older and don't want to have to go off on our own into the world and have to pay our own bills. The question is always there: Why do we have to grow up?

The thing that is great about children, or childhood, is the innocence of it all. The world has not touched them yet. To them the world is a wonderful place, full of adventure and magic. Anything can happen. The playground is a fortress they have to protect. The cardboard box, a rocket ship sending them to outer space. Everything, you could say is at their fingertips. They can be anything they want to be. The have not been ruined by the world yet.

I believe children look at the world the way it should be looked at. They look at it and imagine themselves being whatever they dream about. They can achieve anything. They still have that ability. The ability to believe in their dreams even if the world is telling them no. They never hear the no. For some reason as we grow older we all seem to not only start hearing the no, but listening to it.

Children look at people and only expect the best. They never assume more or less of a person because of appearance, age or anything else people nowadays judge people about. Often times I believe children bring out the best in people. It is extremely hard to be cruel or mean when a child is around.

Have you ever seen two children fighting over a toy? One second they are the worst of enemies, and then the next second they are best friends playing together again. The toy becomes completely irrelevant and forgotten. Forgiveness comes so much easier to a child. Granted, it is easier to forgive someone for taking your toy rather than stabbing you in the back. But imagine if people forgave as easily as a child does. There would be less hate and sorrow in the world.

I think part of the reason people hate growing old is not because they are growing old. Life is full of new and exciting things at any age. It is not because they now have to pay the bills, even though that is not exactly fun. Or the fact that they can’t play in the cardboard box anymore. I think the real reason people hate growing old is because they have to grow up. You have to lose some of that childlike innocence.

Key word is some, not all.

Some people lose all of their childlike innocence. The world is a dreary place for these people. The people that manage to keep some however, the world is a beautiful place.

So my challenge to you is to see the world as a beautiful place. See it with childlike innocence, full of adventure and magic. After all as Walt Disney says, “growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional.”