I Dare You! Moxie On Monday

“The only way to experience change … is to change.” – Catherine Grace O’Connell 

Be prepared! This Moxie is interactive! It’s a dare. You have a role to play and report back!

We are born to be unconventional. We aren’t born to squish and squeeze our expansive souls into perfect little boxes; you know, the ones society and grown-ups begin to construct for us – to mold and shape us into well behaved little mini me’s, playing out unresolved issues that don’t belong to us. Before we know it, those boxes become us.

Midlife is the ideal time to break free. Midlife is a time to grant yourself permission, permission that your inner child has been longing for. That’s how I found myself laughing and dancing in the desert in a gown and a boa! Today’s Moxie on Monday is a dare, a challenge, for you to join me in busting out of that box! Let’s toss those restrictive confines placed upon you by others to the wayside. It’s a dare. Will you take it?

We all carry an inner child within. It’s not actually one child but rather children or inner selves that represent different parts of us. We’ve all seen an adult, or perhaps ourselves, revert to acting like a child at times in our lives. You know that person who throws a tantrum in the midst of a traffic jam or gets triggered by the barista at the coffee shop when their order isn’t just right? Or when you somehow get elected President of the United States and learn to tweet? Oftentimes, these are younger parts of us, wounds we carry deep within, being opened and triggered in the present moment filled with the energy of our younger selves. That little girl who felt invisible and unloved rises up to make herself heard today.

I became reacquainted with my inner child during a meditation exercise. She was a beautiful young girl. She was playful. It took her a while to trust me, to believe that I would listen to her as she had been trying to get my attention for a very long time. I was directed to ask her what she wanted from me in this moment. The idea was to listen to her and to plan an experience together to celebrate my inner child, the child that was me. I remember the moment I connected with her. I asked her to share what would bring her happiness in this moment. She asked me for a yellow dress. She asked me to take her and wear that yellow dress to the beach. She asked me to play with her on the beach. And so I did. I laughed and I played.

When I was done I cried. Tears of Joy.

We have all experienced moments when a song from our past triggers us to instantly travel back in time to a memory of hearing that song, possibly for the first time, decades ago as clearly as if it’s happening today. Memories are alive in us. Our inner child or children are also alive in us.

Midlife isn’t an age. Midlife is an experience. Midlife is a time of self-discovery. Midlife is a time to be unconventional. No one can fill your shoes but you. No one was born to be you but you. What better time to be yourself, your real self, than NOW…right now!

The best way to bust out of a box that’s been constructed around you without your permission is to bust out of that box. The only way to be unconventional is to be unconventional. The only way to be free is to be free. You have that power. I have that power. We have that power. Midlife gives us that power.

You have an inner child who’s beckoning for your attention. That inner child needs a parent. That inner child needs guidance. That inner child wants your love. That inner child is waiting for you. That inner child is you.

Last week, I shared a blog post where I did something very unconventional. It was silly. It had no real purpose other than pure joy, self-discovery, and creative self-expression. Joy is the gateway to the inner child.

Is there a secret desire you’ve been carrying, perhaps it’s unconscious at the moment, but it’s carried in your heart by your inner child waiting to be heard and acted upon?

I dare you to be you. I dare you to be unconventional. I dare you to join me in letting that inner child break free. I dare you to be silly. I dare you to choose joy.

Are you ready to join me?

I dare you in the next week to do one thing outside the box just for the joy of it … something unexpected … and share your experience in a photo or a social media post, and right here in the comments below.

This world doesn’t need more rules. This world needs more rule breakers.

Breaking rules takes Moxie.

Moxie sets your inner child free.

Are you in? Let us know. Make us laugh. Make us smile. Tell us your story!