Echo of Footsteps
Child within still roams the chambers of your heart, can you hear the echo of the footsteps?
I haven’t forgotten her, I still think of her and am constantly reminded of her when I see my daughter and think to myself, how she would enjoy this life that my daughter has now. “Echo of footsteps” is a phrase that will forever remind me of the passing of childhood. My own steps taken on the path of my life, my children's steps that fill my fleeting days and I try to capture this before they grow up. So I can remind them of the little feet that once ran these halls, sometimes silently, sleepy, sometimes loudly, joyfully. And there I was holding space for their bodies and souls to grow while looking back at the girl inside and healing her.
Your childhood, however it was, is like a soundtrack to the rest of your life. That doesn’t mean that you’re a bystander now. When you heal a part of your past, you also heal the version of you today, and it will affect future generations. We weave magic with the thread of past and future when we tend to the wounds, covered with coagulated blood of the past.
What is the first thing you notice when you look at an old photo of yourself? For me, it’s the fire in the eyes, the aliveness, the joy of experiencing life, to be able to dance and sing, to be able to make adults laugh. How simple it is, the essence of this life staring back at me. For such a small part of our lives do we get to experience that. But it’s never out of reach. To be truly present and grateful for the breath of life. To feel the heart pounding in your ribcage, to hear the song of nature. It’s never too late to awaken your senses.
That girl also knew what purpose she carried inside her heart. And now I wonder how all those well-meaning advice only kept my head down. How I thought that someone out there knows me better than I do. Always waiting for someone to tell me how to be. As an adult you’re trying to recollect your song, picking up fragments you left behind in youth. Searching for what you buried under the debris of fake skin.
This time around feels like putting the scattered pieces of a puzzle together. Purpose in your heart is there for a reason, and it won't stop nudging. It takes courage to follow because the mind wants you to tread safely, and when you doubt your abilities, you're not safe. So have courage and faith as your path aligns with the purpose you carry in your heart. And feel the echo of footsteps your child within walks, or skips.
Every life leaves ripples behind, like we're walking on water. And sometimes the echo of our past may seem suffocating. To heal, you have to go through the storm with soft hands for yourself, and always be vulnerable and honest with yourself. The inner child can guide you, and teach you, once it feels safe in your arms. I believe the world would be a much nicer place if everyone healed the inner child. If they wouldn’t act from their hurt part. It’s not that we can all magically heal everything about us. But if we try, and are determined to walk this road, then things start to shift.
I wanted to end this with an invitation, my short story about healing the inner child - The Girl, The Owl and The Doe is available in Kindle stores for free, for the next two days. The story is also a part of a self-help, creative book named Whispers of the Inner Child.
As always, thank you for reading these lines and let your inner child play.
Natasek