I often refer to adults as toddlers with wrinkles.
What is road rage if not just a temper tantrum in a bigger body (and a larger, more expensive version of a Hot Wheels car)?
It’s funny how we expect adults to act a certain way, just because they’re older. But age doesn’t necessarily equate to maturity. A select few men in my dating history prove that point vehemently.
I mean, to call us wrinkly toddlers is maybe a bit of a stretch.
Aging does provide us with teachings and experiences, so theoretically, we’re smarter and more capable. But while aging may be inevitable, maturation is definitely a choice.
We have to actively choose to become more patient, more compassionate, thoughtful and perceptive.
It’s wild to me how understated emotional intelligence is when it’s such a key factor in creating social harmony. I also think it weighs into someone’s IQ more than might be fully recognized.
Every human being has had a slightly different story. The backdrop through which they experience life, relationships, problem solving, trust and support (or lack thereof) has created the filter through which they experience life. We can’t fit every lesson and interaction in those early years, so theoretically, we keep on learning.
I think the difference is that children are allowed to learn.
They are wired and socialized to be in a learning state, but adults are expected to ‘know’. And insecurity is a gnarly beast, so when an adult doesn’t ‘know’ in the way they are expected, it manifests into undesirable or unpleasant behaviour.
I wish we could normalize that learning is a lifelong thing.
Things like constructive communication and conflict resolution are not inherent in most.
I wonder if it would make us more patient with one another when we flub and misstep? I wonder if it would dampen the overwhelming inner taunts of insecurity… and allow us to feel more IJ with messing up, asking questions or letting people know we just don’t know how to manage a situation we wind up in?
I’d love to believe that world could be a more peaceful and harmonious place. I have a pair of rose-coloured glasses that I just can’t seem to ditch. I want to believe in prioritizing compassion and patience, to ask questions instead of assuming we know, even, if not especially, when we think we do know.
What changes occur in the world when adults are willing and allowed to learn in a real way?
