Children are the awakened. No conditioning, no thoughts consuming there mind, no ego trying to fragment reality. I find it funny because people "seeking enlightenment" are just trying to become what they once were as a child, a completely open and aware stream of consciousness with no thoughts or preconceived notions dictating or judging their experience.
There have been studies that have shown that a child's brain is almost always in a state of creativity, where as an adults brain is in a state of stress. I can't remember when I started analyzing and judging my experiences but I do remember a time when I thought less in the moment than I do now. The 21 years of experience and conditioning I have gone through now seems to be more of a burden than a blessing, although with out it, I doubt I would be seeking awareness.
When I was a child growing up I always wanted to know what the adults knew, do what the adults did, and be like the adults were. Now as I reach the Global legal age I realize that I want to go beyond what the adults above my generation understood. I want to re-member.
It seems as though we are taught to always want to get somewhere. We as human beings seem to have this desire to be needed or of having to do something. We want purpose. Yet this is what creates our suffering. Ultimately, there is nothing we "have" to do, there are no "guidelines or rules" to life. What we believe to be "guidelines or rules" are simply just ideas created by us that we mistake to be real. We're using our imagination to make things up and then claiming it to be real... Does anyone else find this peculiar?
As a child, we had no responsibilities, and this allowed us to thrive in the moment and to be anything that we wanted to be. We didn't have to worry about the past or the future all we had was the joy of the moment. As we got older we started to think that "We know better now than we did as a child" We think that there are things that "we have to do", and responsibilities that "we have to fulfill". Yet even these are just simple creations of the mind, nothing more than the fragmentation and separation of the whole experience of reality.
So many times have I heard people say, "I wish I was a child again, nothing to worry about, no responsibilities". Yet this statement is an oxymoron because we are still children, there are no responsibilities, and only in the illusion of the mind do we create these things. If there is one thing that I have learned in my 21 years of existence it is that "Thoughts Create Reality". What you believe you will perceive.
So the goal is not to become a child again, but it is to think like a child. See every experience as a new one and enjoy every moment. Let go of the attachment to our ego and surrender to the beauty of the present moment. Be here now and become aware of your unity with the entirety of the universe. We create our own reality; simply choose what you want to create and be awakened.