ChildLIKE / ChildSOUL: Thoughts by Hermann Hesse

There’s a huge difference between being childlike and childISH. I’ve been (wrongly) accused of being childish or of not “growing up” (whatever THAT means) when the truth is that I’ve retained the quality of childlike wonder and joy regarding the world we inhabit — especially when it comes to simple things like a butterfly or a seashell or whales or stargazing or a spectacular beach sunset. At the end of the day, these things are what’s important, at least for me.

Hermann Hesse, poet and author of “Siddhartha”, wrote about this same character trait:

“All children, as long as they still live in the mystery, are continuously occupied in their souls with the only thing that is important, which is themselves and their enigmatic relationship with the world around them.

Seekers and wise people return to these preoccupations as they mature.

Most people, however, forget and leave forever this inner world of the truly significant very early in their lives. Like lost souls they wander about for their entire lives in the multicolored maze of worries, wishes, and goals, none of which dwells in their innermost being and none of which leads them to their innermost core and home.”- Hermann Hesse

We should never ever lose the part of us that points up to the sky and says, “Look at the moon!”

Here’s another point of view; not so sweet, but wild and ferocious…

Art curated on Pinterest. Credit to the owner.

Small Delights | Kleine Freuden

“Accustom yourself every morning to look for a moment at the sky and suddenly you will be aware of the air around you, the scent of morning freshness that is bestowed on you between sleep and labor.

You will find every day that the gable of every house has its own particular look, its own special lighting.

Pay it some heed…you will have for the rest of the day a remnant of satisfaction and a touch of coexistence with nature.

Gradually and without effort the eye trains itself to transmit many small delights.” –Hermann Hesse

The 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the German author Hermann Hesse.
Photos by Enchanted Seashells