“Inside all of us is a Wild Thing” — Maurice Sendak
It’s Time To Get a Little Wild
You may have noticed that things have gotten a little quiet around here. To keep you in the loop, I have been busy with a few writing projects, and have also devoted a huge part of my time to learning Korean. I also want to thank all my awesome readers, I appreciate you being a part of my life.
One of my favorite books growing up was “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak.
The story is about a boy named Max, who on one evening is wildly playing and jumping around his home in a wolf costume. Max causes a raucous and as punishment, his mother sends him to bed without supper. In his room, a mysterious, wild forest and sea grows out of his imagination. Max leaves his safe and cozy room and sails away to the land of the “Wild Things”.
Recently they made a movie of this classic beloved story and I enjoyed watching it. Here are the story’s main meaningful messages that we can apply in our lives.
What Can We Learn From Max
1. Be like Max: Don’t let anyone impose their beliefs on you. If you have not experienced it for yourself, only accept it hypothetically. This is your life, go find out for yourself.
2. Let your kid be a kid: If you are a parent, make sure you let your kid keep their childlike creativity, and encourage it in any way you can. Don’t kill their spontaneity or their innocence by trying to have them grow up so quickly.
3. As a kid you have limitless creativity: As a young child society has yet to corrupt you fully, your mind has not been confined to a rigid way of thinking, and you see everything as a possibility. You don’t think outside the box, there is no box yet, just pure utter creativity. Our goal as adults should be to become more childlike.
4. Explore: Max loves to explore, never lose your enthusiasm to explore. This one attitude alone is responsible for the lifestyle I lead. I will never stop exploring.
5. This is your life: Just like Max and his crown, you are the king of your life, it is your responsibility to create your joy, your purpose. Love life.
Next time you find yourself in a rut, remember that you can always go to “Where The Wild Things Are”. Godspeed my friend.
Join the conversation, and share your insights below.
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I enjoyed this post. It really speaks to my philosophy about life. People want to be envious of what I do and what I’ve experienced… but it is their responsibility to not accept mediocrity and create the life they want to live.
I bought the book Where the Wild Things are to read when I travel come January.
awesomeness :)….your trip is going to be epic 🙂
Nice lessons, Ivan. Indeed let your kid be a kid and let us adults be kids too. We all have that natural spontaneous nature within us. We felt it as kids when we expressed ourselves fully and freely. We bury it deep, but it need not stay there… that is the genius of Sendak… to remind us of our own unlimited nature.
Blessings
rob
your right on the money rob :)…thanks so much for taking the time to read my post. Be well.
@jenny
you might want to take another book with you, too,when you are travelling. This one’s not extremely text-heavy. 😉
Thanks for your post, Ivan. I didn’t take the time to think about the mother that much until now.
my pleasure 🙂 thank you for contributing to my site…be well 🙂
If we don’t allow anyone to impose there belief on us, we become more self realized and live a life of self actuality rather than conformity. Nice post! Short and sweet.
thanks jonathan :)…be well 🙂
Awesome post man. Very cool. I agree with this 100% Keep up the GREAT work and have a GREAT day!
it’s my pleasure…thanks for stopping by 🙂 come back soon and be well 🙂
How ironic that I read this post on the very day that this movie arrived in my mailbox from Netflix. I’ll definitely be remembering this post as I am watching. As a parent I really relate to lesson #2. So often I fall into the trap of wanting my kids to behave a certain way or do certain things without realizing that I should really be letting them explore their own world and surroundings. I’ve seen this in school as well and it disturbs me that the classroom tends to stifle creativity and instead reinforces conformity. Another reason I am looking forward to world travel with my kids. The world is our classroom. Good thoughts Ivan.
let me know what you think once you watch the movie my friend :)….