Which moments do you remember, and what is it that feeds your soul?

Written by: Vildana Efendić, Gestalt psychotherapist

I watched the new Pixar cartoon Soul at the cinema with my son. Although it is essentially a cartoon for adults, even the youngest children can enjoy what is the most beautiful Pixar animation ever.

The messages this cartoon carries are so profound that every psychotherapist will find some therapeutic value in almost every scene.

So as not to give away the story, I will only reflect on how I understood the cartoon Soul.

Many of us ask ourselves what our purpose is... why do we live? Do I live for myself or do I live for others? Am I living the unfulfilled dreams of my parents, or am I living the way society dictates? Do I live by rules that others have imposed, or do I set my own? Does it matter to me that I am happy, that I am content? And what is it that makes me happy?

Many will say of me, “Oh my, she’s crazy as a live wire,” but in truth I only do one thing – I enjoy life as much as I can, and when I cannot enjoy it, I end whatever makes me unhappy. I go to a place where I can nurture the little girl inside me… I go to those places often. Whether it is enjoying time with my nieces and nephews, with my son… I go to places where I can simply be myself. And I am that little girl. Many forget the child inside them. Forever.

The child inside you never dies. Imagine your little boy inside you, your little girl inside you… picture them in front of you. What does that boy look like, how old is your little boy, what does your little girl think of you, how old is she? Is your little boy satisfied with your life? Is your little girl happy to have you by her side?

Talk to the child inside you. Place them in front of you. Whenever you are sad, tell him/her. Whenever you are happy, tell him/her. And you will see what happens. Perhaps for the first time you will see something you had not seen before… perhaps you will see that you are not living the life you imagined. Can that little boy or little girl teach you something, remind you of something you once were and have forgotten?

Observe children up to the age of six, before they start school and become part of the “system.” Watch them and learn from them, if you have forgotten how. The way they enjoy snowflakes and lick the snow, the way they focus when doing something they love, when you can barely call them back, when they lick ice cream and you can see them feel every bite, when they eat their favourite sweet and say “Mmmm, how good this is,” when they feel the sand and sea between their toes and go wild with joy, when they goof around and giggle like clowns, when a cake smells so good that they sigh their way through the house. When they gather chestnuts under rustling leaves and look at every animal as if seeing it for the first time. When it rains and they want to jump in the puddles.

Do not forget this. Do not forget to be children. That is the purpose. Let us not forget to enjoy every moment with all five senses. Because if we forget this, it means we have forgotten ourselves. And once you forget yourself, you forget the child inside you too. So who are you, then, to yourself?

Our purpose is to enjoy planet Earth. To enjoy it with our five senses. Let earthquakes remind us of this, let Corona remind us of this, let wars remind us of this… because time is only an illusion. Moments are what matter. Because moments are all we remember.