Innocence is who we are and we don’t have to become it!
Under the conditioning of how we act, think and feel is our true self and innocence is our very nature.
Innocence is our very nature
We are all born innocent, open and receptive. Then layers of conditioning are imposed upon our innocence as we learn how to behave, what to think and how to feel according to our families and the communities that we live in.
Our innocence is like a mirror, and the conditioning is the layers of dust covering the mirror, but because innocence is our very nature, it can always be reflected even under many layers of dust. Because our innocence is so innate it cannot help but shine through. It may simply be dusting that is required
Dusting is paying attention. It involves attending to the truth and becoming aware.
Who am I? What do I really feel? How do I want to act? These are questions that help us pay attention to our true nature and the subtle conditioning that creates the layers of dust.
Becoming aware involves paying attention to what we really think – about ourselves, our friends, our lives and the world we live in. It involves recognising feelings and learning that we can interact with them, really’ feel’ the effects of them and still manage them. It also includes noticing how we behave, what we do around others, and what we do when we are alone.
As we pay attention we may find things that shock or confuse us, that are hard to pay attention to and hard to own. We may make discoveries about ourselves; and we may also meet aspects of ourselves that we love easily and without effort that are surprising and endearing. As we do these explorations and investigations and pay deeper attention, the innocence of our nature begins to shine through and the dust begins to clear. We also begin to live happier lives with deeper meaning.
Innocence does not judge and does not criticise it remains open, interested and fascinated by all that the world can offer. It does not defend and it does not protect – it loves, and displays that love as it interacts with the self and others.