When I was a child we had a rope swing in our yard.  I loved swinging and I can still remember the joy I felt; the rush of soaring off the ground.  Even now, if I find a sturdy looking, industrial swing in a playground I’ll see how high I can go. I’ve got to. The swing demands it. 

Some people I know would never get on a swing as an adult. Maybe they never loved it as a child but more I believe they don’t want people to judge them. Somehow there is this idea that when you become an adult you have to act like a grown-up all the time. 

Put Away Childish Things

I remember as a child grown ups quoting a specific verse from the Bible – saying it was time to grow up:

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. – 1 Corinthians 13:11 King James Bible

However, they used the verse wrong… the intended meaning of this verse is the knowledge which we now have, compared with that which we shall have in heaven, is like that which is possessed in infancy compared with that we have in adulthood. As we get older, we reject the dreams we had as a child (we put them away) and the same thing will happen when we die and go to heaven – all the trappings of this life will no longer be important.

That sucks.

No, I mean it – it sucks.  Why encourage us to love one another if it will all be for naught when we pass on?

(For the record, I’m not an expert on the verses of the Bible.  If I have in any way confused the meaning of this verse feel free to let me know.)

Heaven on Earth

This may be why I haven’t put away all my childish things. I actually still have some of the same dreams that I had as a child – well, becoming an artist is a big one that comes to mind.  It’s not entirely inconceivable.  It’s a dream that won’t die. No matter how much I tried to act like an adult and held a corporate job this dream persisted. 

It’s the idea that when I get there, when I’m a full-time working artist, I will have ascended – LOL – that will be my heaven on earth.

A Reminder

The title “Abandoned Childhood” is a bit of a misdirect- it’s intended to remind myself and the viewer to search out their inner child. Hold onto your dreams – no matter how childish because you never know.  And too – don’t grow all the way up.