As a child, my favorite quiet place was outside, under a tree, in the backyard. I am still certain there were fairies out there and we played together. When I wasn’t playing with the fairies I was reading. When I started changing and choosing my life rather than allowing it to chose me, I realized that there were empty spaces that I had spent years filling up with food. I had to learn a new way to fill those spaces. So I went back to childhood to remember what I loved. I loved the outdoors, I loved quiet, I loved to dance and I loved books! I learned to bring these places back into my life to fill the empty spaces on those times where the empty was just too much to be with. Remember the places of your childhood? Remember the times where you were most at peace during your life? Consider creating a list of all that you loved and use it to remember how you loved life before and it will help you on this journey to loving life, even more, today.
My Favorite Childhood Books:
- The Wizard of Oz L. Frank Baum I not only love The Wizard of Oz – I loved the other 13 books that he wrote about Oz.
- Sky Island L. Frank Baum Another great fantasy about life in another world.
- The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- Little Bear Else Holmelund Minarik
- Winnie the Pooh A.A. Milne
- Ramona the Pest Beverly Cleary
- Amelia Bedelia Peggy Parrish
- Pippi Longstocking Astrid Lindgren
- The Story of Babar Jean de Brunhoff
- Little Women Louisa Mae Alcott
- The Chronicles of Narnia C.S. Lewis My favorite was the Silver Chair, partially because the heroine is named Jill and partially for the story line.
- The Strangest Secret Earl Nightingale
- A Wrinkle in Time Madeline L’Engle
- Charlotte’s Web E.B. White
- The Outsiders S.E Hinton
- The Hiding Place Corrie Ten
- Boom From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler E. L. Konigsburg
And my absolute favorite:
- The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
Childhood books helped me discover who I was at the core. What were your favorites?
Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.
Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young. — Henry Ford
