A Serious Mind
A serious mind can never be in the present. Only a playful mind, only children, are in the present. So be more childlike… play more.
Man is strangely sick: he wants to control people-in controlling people your ego is fulfilled, you are somebody special-and he himself also wants to be controlled, because by being controlled you are no longer responsible. For all these reasons, playfulness is stifled, crushed from the very beginning, and then people become afraid of their own playfulness, afraid of ‘losing control.’
What is the fear? The fear is implanted by others: always remain in control, always remain disciplined, always respect those who are older than you. Always follow the priest, the parents, the teachers-they know what is right for you. Your nature is never allowed to have its say.
Slowly, slowly you start carrying a dead child within yourself. This dead child within you destroys your sense of humor: you cannot laugh with your total heart, you cannot play, you cannot enjoy the small things of life. You become so serious that your life, rather than expanding, starts shrinking.
Life should be, each moment, a precious creativity. What you create does not matter-it may be just sandcastles on the seashore-but whatever you do should come out of your playfulness and joy.
Your inner child should never be allowed to die. Nourish it, and don’t be afraid that it will go out of control. Where can it go? And even if it goes out of control-so what? What can you do out of control? You can dance like a madman, laugh like a madman; you can jump and jog like a madman… people may think you are mad, but that is their problem. If you are enjoying it, if your life is nourished by it, then it does not matter, even if it becomes a problem for the rest of the world.
