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The magic of childhood

The magic of childhood

Spirituality

mchill
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For most of us, memories of our day-to-day events and those of the recent past have a familiar, mundane quality to them, but memories of our early childhood take on a brightly colored, almost magical quality. My Aunt once told me that this is because children come so recently from God. I wonder if this is true-

diver

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@mchill said
For most of us, memories of our day-to-day events and those of the recent past have a familiar, mundane quality to them, but memories of our early childhood take on a brightly colored, almost magical quality. My Aunt once told me that this is because children come so recently from God. I wonder if this is true-
What do you mean by children have “recently come from God”?

moonbus
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@mchill said
For most of us, memories of our day-to-day events and those of the recent past have a familiar, mundane quality to them, but memories of our early childhood take on a brightly colored, almost magical quality. My Aunt once told me that this is because children come so recently from God. I wonder if this is true-
This is because, psychologically, when people remember a painful event, they remember what happened (burning your hand on a hot stove, for example) and that is was painful, but the memory itself is not the pain (except in rare cases of trauma). Whereas, when people remember a happy event, the memory itself can make one feel happy again.

The reverse also sometimes happens, in nostalgia, where people believe the past to have been better than the present. It isn't so. Most of the past was much the same as most of the present, but our memories play tricks on us.

PettyTalk

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@mchill said
For most of us, memories of our day-to-day events and those of the recent past have a familiar, mundane quality to them, but memories of our early childhood take on a brightly colored, almost magical quality. My Aunt once told me that this is because children come so recently from God. I wonder if this is true-
I wonder! Do you have any childhood memories of your own on coming from God?

And how would your aunt know where children come from?

mchill
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@pettytalk said
I wonder! Do you have any childhood memories of your own on coming from God?

And how would your aunt know where children come from?
You're missing the point here. This has nothing to do with my memories of coming from God or my aunt's exact knowledge of where children come from. This was just idle speculation based on the fact that most people's memories of their early childhood are slightly different than those of the recent past.

diver

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@mchill said
You're missing the point here. This has nothing to do with my memories of coming from God or my aunt's exact knowledge of where children come from. This was just idle speculation based on the fact that most people's memories of their early childhood are slightly different than those of the recent past.
Maybe not really an “idle speculation” for the spirituality forum then.

mchill
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@divegeester said
Maybe not really an “idle speculation” for the spirituality forum then.
Put any label on it you want, it was just a discussion topic.

diver

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@mchill said
Put any label on it you want, it was just a discussion topic.
Label, what label? I was interested in discussing the bit where you wrote;

”My Aunt once told me that this is because children come so recently from God. I wonder if this is true-“

But you closed that spiritual angle down and backed away from saying you “wondered if it was true”.

Suzianne
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@divegeester said
Label, what label? I was interested in discussing the bit where you wrote;

”My Aunt once told me that this is because children come so recently from God. I wonder if this is true-“

But you closed that spiritual angle down and backed away from saying you “wondered if it was true”.
How very 'wet blanket' of you.

diver

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@suzianne said
How very 'wet blanket' of you.
How so?

diver

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There is an interesting religious, doctrinal, philosophical point in play in this thread. Despite mchill not wanting to discuss it.
The OP author states that he wonders if it is true that “children come from god”. Do they?


The bible talks about (at least) three relevant aspects relating to this question:

1) children (offspring to be precise) being a reward
2) people are with god in eternity
3) God knew David before he was born

If we are with God in eternity and God knows us before we are born, then it follows that we all “come from God” and that this temporal existence is a juncture, a place where we exist briefly in time before returning to eternity.

The “children” term is largely irrelevant as in eternity there are no infants, just spiritual beings.
However “offspring” are a reward in this temporal life, so the notion of us all being in eternity before and after our temporal life and coming from god as “children” is a misnomer which conflates the phenomena of us each transitioning eternity to the temporal to eternity. with the idea that children are somehow wondering around in eternity waiting to be born.

Thoughts?

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diver

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The post that was quoted here has been removed
You might enjoy a book called The Happiness Curve

https://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Curve-Life-Better-After/dp/1250078806

It (the happiness curve itself, not the book) is also the subject of a multi-decade, cross cultural, (even cross species in some cases) global research endeavour which looks at correlations between age and happiness.

Spoiler: humans and some animals are most happy when younger and older. Apparently middle age sucks.

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moonbus
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The post that was quoted here has been removed
I have most certainly learned what things and activities are likely to make me happy, as I have matured. As a kid, I was fuggin' clueless and as an adolescent very unhappy.

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