One of the curses of adulthood is losing our childlike perspective on the world. As we grow older, we tend to abandon the curiosity, faith and innocence that defines childhood. We can never re-gain the perspective on life that we had when we were just beginning its journey--or can we?
T. S. Eliot, one of my favorite poets and philosophers--since all poets are at least amateur philosophers--commented on this one time: "And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started. And know the place for the first time."
While he isn't specifically addressing losing our childlike perspective, he is talking about our nearly endless search for meaning and understanding life. As humans, we are almost destined to spend our lives "exploring" or searching for the manner in which we can make sense of life. In a way, we are "exploring" various avenues or directions to find what we may have lost when we started.
Another way of saying it (without the eloquence of Eliot): "And the end of all our exploring to find meaning will be to arrive where we started. And realize that what we left behind was perhaps what we had been searching for the entire time."
Not specific situations or particular narratives but a time when our approach to life wasn't infused with the constant wearing down of the human condition. Newness, creativity, innocence, trust, optimism, embrace vs. pushing away ... all these and more point to the things we left behind.
And when our exploring is complete, we will arrive where we started--but we will experience it as if for the first time.
