Throughout our lives, we are taught that growing up is a linear process. We start as children, we grow into teenagers, then adults, and finally, seniors. The time that it takes to get from A to B looks different for everyone, but the goal is the same: we are being guided to “mature.”

Societal standards define maturity by a lot of goal posts, including but not limited to things like getting a job or getting married. In the meantime, we are asked to establish an aura of seriousness.

In theory, adults should be more serious, for they have acquired years of wisdom throughout a lifetime of trials. In practice, we often place too much pressure on adults to uphold this seriousness.

There needs to be a better balance, as our inner child is always following us around, and we can’t simply ignore their calls or send them to voicemail. The option to “get back to it later” is possible, but later never really comes, leaving us to ignore our deepest desires, writing them off as fantasy or pipe dreams.

The reality is, though, that the calls from our inner child are guiding us toward something that is critical for our growth. Nurturing your inner child is the only way to nurture your current adult.

Allow yourself to let loose, giving nostalgia the reigns for just a moment and seeing what happens.

It has likely been many years since you felt the rush of seeing presents from Santa Clause under your tree or playing mermaids with your best friend in the pool. You can still recreate these moments as an adult, often with more resources than you would have had as a kid.

For example, think about the life you envisioned for yourself when you were just 5 years old. Are you staying true to that life now? Have you achieved all of those goals?

While you don’t necessarily need to do everything your 5-year-old self envisioned, honoring those wishes will bring you peace.

Nurturing other children will help you better understand and heal your inner child.

You may become a parent soon if that is within your realm of desire! Nurturing is part of your life’s purpose, and helping children along their journey is a large facet of that.

Archangel Gabriel is connecting you with children to nurture at this time. Whether they are your own children, or someone else’s, nurturing them will bring you closer to your own inner child to further you along your path to healing.