I Miss the Inner Child: Treasure Your Inner Child Spirit

Upon reflection about Alzheimer's disease, it seemed that the bright light that twinkled in the elderly woman's blue-grey eyes had disappeared, overnight. It was almost like there was only the outer shell of her spirit left, rather than her true inner spirit.

What had happened to her?

"I miss the inner child," I thought to myself, watching the deep emptiness that continued to flood her entire being.

Later, reflecting more deeply upon what was happening with her, I had mixed thoughts and feelings. As much as there is always a certain degree of inevitability to any lengthy illness, it is coupled with sadness. There is no easy way to see this kind of a phenomenon happening in someone you know and love.

What I saw in this particular Alzheimer's patient reminded me of a huge, grey squirrel with his front feet on the screen door, peering into the kitchen through the screen door. It was as if there was no one at home in that animal, as it was a vacant stare.

What had happened to its inner child? What had happened to the inner child in this woman?

It is the spirit of the inner child that gives life and meaning to all of existence. Without it, there seems to be a huge void. It is not that a void has anything wrong with it, in itself. Contemplation of a void can allow a filling of the heart, mind, soul with invigorating life, as well as brand new thoughts and ideas, but a void has its own unique time and place.

It just seemed that somehow, it was not appropriate here, as a possible stage in the life of an aging, Alzheimer's patient.

The inner child spirit portrays a unique element of life, invariably radiating a wonderful vibrancy that resounds everywhere. No one can question its reality, or its revolving door of truth that in turn shapes the world. It is not limited to infants or children. This is also evident in teenagers, as well as in adults of any age. Somehow, there is a child-like innocence of spirit that takes everything for granted in a powerful, positive, constructive and trusting manner. There is no fear mongering. But even fear responses like fight and flight were not registering with this woman, as they would with the inner spirit of the child of any age. Nothing was registering, but how could that possibly be?

Can the human body become just a shell?

The smiling face of the elderly woman was gone and in its place, simply a gray mask with a totally vacant, incomprehensible stare. Were no thought processes happening?

Would it be possible to restore that inner child to this woman? If I missed it, would others, too? Was there some magical formula that would ever bring it back? Unfortunately, no, barring a miracle, but that is always a possibility.

One might wonder what caused the inner child in this woman to flee. Was it medication induced? Was there inner conflict that could not be resolved? Was it related to suffering, loss or grief, or was it merely an inevitable stage in the progression of her illness?

As a universal phenomenon, the disappearance of the spirit of the inner child is not uncommon as it is noted all around the world. It may take many years of in-depth research to understand the phenomenon itself, and why it happens. Perhaps it signifies the various stages of the fleeting nature of life, sometimes more evident in some people, or more specifically Alzheimer's patients.