By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.

What would happen if you were able to find your inner child?

Most of us have some hurt and pain from things that happened when we were young. Some people have deep wounds and traumas, others have regrets and disappointments. Much has been written about working on your inner child issues. Some of us are looking to find that little child in us that needs loving and nurturing. Why is this process so hard?

Behaviorally oriented therapists and mindfulness practitioners might both agree there really is no inner child in us, though they conclude this for very different reasons. There is that sad, anxious wounded, and immature part in many of us, which seems to say that there was something missing in our childhood, something we long for and need to be complete. Why can’t we find that inner child and give them a hug or a swift kick in the pants and solve this problem?

Behaviorists might tell us that there really is no inner child. Yes, I know that if you x-ray me there is no little creature lurking in there. They tell me that all I have are those memories of what it was like when I was a child. Not very accurate memories, I am told, as I was really young and got those facts wrong. That explains things sometimes, for a while.

Then something reminds me of that thing that happened that Christmas when I was 5 or the hurt from middle school and suddenly that little child part in me wants to cry.

Scientists assert that sometimes just trying to look at things changes them. Try to photograph a subatomic particle, start to measure it and you might change it. Looking for things alters them. I know that turning on the light in that old warehouse, the one full of cockroaches, results in them all scurrying for hiding places. The more light you shine in there the harder the roaches are to find.

Is my inner child like that? Does looking for him somehow change him?

The mindfulness people remind me there really is no “me.” No-self they call it. There are lots of past selves and hopefully some future selves but right now the only me is the one I perceive and I know that this me will certainly change. The me of 1970 is not the me from 1990 and so on. Why is it so hard to let go of the notion that there is this one immutable me and become open to getting to know all the possible “me’s”?

So that friend from elementary school, she doesn’t exist anymore. Her place has been taken by a senior citizen with the same name and some of the same memories, but not the same body. My child is an adult now and my cat; she is not the same cat from way back when.

So while looking for an inner child may be tempting, it may be a whole lot more productive to spend some time getting to know the person you are today before another day passes and you find you are changing again.

Staying connected with David Joel Miller

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!

My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.

Story Bureau.

Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.

Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.

As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.

Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.

Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.

Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.

Planned Accidents  The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.

Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.

What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?

Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.

For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller

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