Chapter 14: Keeping Cute

Dear reader,

Tonight you and I are going to get cuddly :). No, don't be silly. My hug's are great: warm, long and without any pats on the back; you don't have to be shy. What? You want to do what? I'm afraid I wasn't that serious about us...gosh... onto the blog then...wow....you make things so awkward for me :D.

Haha-- I hope you had an enjoyable day, mine certainly has been. Amongst the productivity and the general feeling of being fulfilled I have the pleasure of sharing with you some more seeds of wisdom that came to me today while walking the dog.

We have a family dog named Kipling and I bought him as a gift for my sister's birthday. He is a Shih tzu, with floppy ears, a tail that curls upwards and a coat of very fluffy fur that requires regular trimming. Apart from being a family pet he has turned into somewhat of a family member which I can imagine is the case for most families with animals. Why, he sits down with us at dinner, he lounges about while my family watches television, he even rattles at the door in the morning to wake us up; he's a part of our lives. Ever since he has been around I have noticed reduced amounts of stress in the family, I have noticed our family becoming more tightly bonded and more loving and patient (as these are the qualities needed to look after an animal).

I realized that that Kipling never intends to make us happy, he simply does and we cannot help but smile when he is sitting down smiling back with his little tongue flailing out. The point is that animals live their lives with no outcome of what others will think of them; their innocence is so powerful, yet completely genuine and that is why we love them.

I thought to myself, if only us human beings had this innocence; if only we could walk around with that sense of wonder at everything we saw. Or, if only the same old trick (like throwing a ball across the garden) would give us endless joy as if it was the first time we had seen it. Wouldn't life be beautiful to think like that? To have unlimited happiness every single second of your day?
Then I reached the end of the road and thought: "but wait, we have experienced this before, just some years ago, when we were children. The time when we were cute."

In the playground all that mattered was that you were having a great time and no-one was going to judge you. You could imagine you were an astronaut and fly to the moon, you could become a princess and have the most beautiful dresses and find that handsome prince. Imagination brought us to paradise and now--these are all dreams. Reality kicked in and told us that we have to work for those things. Envy came in to make us jealous of those people. Religion, creed, social standing and income came in to remind us all that there's just too much on the table to be doing make believe. What is the result? We cannot walk down the street without being aware of everyone else. We cannot say anything we want because we're afraid of what the other person might say. Most of all, we're not innocent anymore: nothing excites us that we haven't seen before, we always want more, we always want what we can't have, and now we are incapable of making ourselves happy by simply living. Instead, we need all of this external stimulus like television shows, music, film, radio, clubbing to keep us in that daydream.

It is sad but true. Today's article is not saying that we shouldn't have grown up. It is saying that we should never forget our roots. Deep down beneath the jungle of social conditioning we are all children and when we are most happy, we are children right there and then. When you laugh you look your youngest and when you smile, the world smiles with you. Those who live stress free lives (ie: children's lives) look better, younger and stronger. Let me help you awaken that youngster in you :).

1. Self Amusement: never be afraid to laugh at what you find funny, laugh at the world because of the way it is. Laugh at all of the funny things that we have to do. Smile when you walk down the street and watch how the world doesn't smile back. Take a moment to step out of the reality that's over your eyes and laugh at life--it's a hilarious but magical thing.
2. Don't take things too seriously: the child is indifferent to anything it can't understand. Just as Kipling gives us no feedback to when we call him joking names. The same should apply. Your reality is your own and thus, words do not matter--positive or negative--they shouldn't influence you. Live your life with energy and ideals not words and whispers. Your priority is happiness and this is always above everything else. The result is also positive to those who try to bring you down. When you're teasing someone who is indifferent, you've just wasted your breath and you start to wonder what was the point of it in the first place? Change yourself--change the world, remember? :D
3. Stop being outcome dependent: everything you do should be for you and for no-one else. You do it because you want to, because it's your life and your happiness. If you go into a club and start jumping up and down like a penguin on a pogo stick, people will react to you, some will choose not to do, some might insult you, others might want to join in, but I'm telling you those who are not joining in always wished they could have done and those making fun are just too outcome dependent that they want to bring you down. They want to be part of that reality and the child in them wants to break free.

Some cultures around the world are known to promote being cute as either a fashion choice or a way of life. Take Japan as a good example, or South Korea, where cuteness by girls is reveled over looking sexy. Yet the more that time goes on, the less Kawaaaaiiiii (cute) I see, and the more of our western culture seems to spread over and consume. Girls once again are wearing less and less, and singing about more sexual things with the result of being completely outcome dependent. What is the result? Manufactured art made for high profits not for high talent, designed to get us to purchase rather than us to appreciate.

While you go through these life changes always remember how you treat animals and how you used to treat your cuddly toys: I genuinely believe that if you can look after something that doesn't give back to you, your heart is in the right place. Keep fighting those changes, and keep it cute.
As Jesus said in Matthew 18:3: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Food for thought :).