Rediscovering the Inner Child: Why Play for Adults Matters More Than Ever
In the business of life and the responsibilities weighing on us in adulthood—bills, career deadlines, raising children, attending to relationships, and planning for the future— we can become consumed by the very things we dreamed of one day having. It’s easy to forget something essential: we are playful creatures. Somewhere along the trail of paying bills, signing contracts, logging into retirement accounts, and balancing work-life responsibilities, many of us unknowingly exile our inner child.
From a mindfulness perspective, this exiling is a form of subtle suffering. We lose touch with the small, daily joys that make life feel spacious and alive. In Jungian language, the inner child represents not just nostalgia but a living archetype—an energy of innocence, spontaneity, and creativity that longs to be integrated into adult life. When we don’t make space for this part of ourselves it often leave us feeling brittle, overburdened, and strangely disconnected, even when everything looks “successful” on paper.
Why We Need Play
Secular Buddhism reminds us that grasping—clinging to security, productivity, and control—creates suffering. Play, in contrast, is duty-free. It is a taste of freedom: no outcome, no product, no performance required. When we re-engage with play, we loosen the grip of striving and return, however briefly, to the freshness of being alive - and the energy of our breath.
This isn’t frivolous. Research shows that play and leisure expand our capacity for resilience, empathy, and creativity. For parents, it also models for children that adulthood isn’t just responsibility—it can also be joyful.
Three Playful Practices to Try This Week
Here are three simple (and slightly uncomfortable) strategies you can begin experimenting with:
Crayon Time 🎨
Sit with a blank sheet of paper and a box of crayons. Ask yourself: “What would my five-year-old self want to draw?” Then let your hand move. Don’t aim for art. Aim for joy, mess, and color.The 5-Minute Dance Party 💃
Put on a song you secretly love but would never play in front of colleagues or neighbors. Turn the lights down and move your body. Forget choreography. Let silliness be the point.The Backward Walk 🚶♂️
Go outside and walk backward for a block (safely). Notice how strange and playful it feels to inhabit the world differently. Let curiosity replace efficiency.
These practices may sound unusual, even childish. That’s the point. They interrupt the relentless seriousness of adult life and offer a direct doorway back to joy, creativity, and presence.
Coming Home to Yourself
In many ways, connecting with the inner child is like coming home—home to a part of you that never stopped waiting for recognition. If you’ve felt weighed down by the demands of life, career, parenting, or financial planning, know this: joy is not a luxury and does not depend on how much money you have saved or make. It is a garden that we all have access to and must cultivate in a daily practice.
If you’d like to explore these practices more deeply, weaving play, mindfulness, and meaning into your everyday life, I invite you to book a consult with a counselor from our team. Together, we can create space for both responsibility and joy—because adulthood doesn’t have to mean forgetting who you once were.
