…is that we too easily forget who we once were. As we grow and develop–either intellectually or emotionally–we lose (or simply fail to exercise) the ability to remember that we are not the individual we were yesterday, or last week, or fifty years ago.

As adults, we cease to approach making friends, having new experiences, or learning a new skills as a child would. With an education we fail to remember our ignorant younger selves. As political conservatives or social liberals, we become intolerant toward others while forgetting our own life experiences that shaped us.

The default state of a freshly-formed human is a equal parts joy, anger, selfishness, openness, fear, generosity, wonder, play, spontaneity and eagerness to learn and expand. Life experiences, and perhaps individual genetic predispositions, shape us as we move through life, narrowing us into thinner, and, all to often, one-dimensional versions of our once-complex selves. Unfortunately, they also seem to shut out the memory of what we were like before.

I suspect the singular secret to joy and tolerance and wholeness is to regain a sense, a memory, an appreciation for, of our earlier multidimensional selves. In other words–though it’s not an original thought–act like a kid again.

And yes, all this coming to me this morning because I watched “A Christmas Carol” on TV last night.