A Young Child's Fragile Eggshell Mind

I was listening to “Peace Frog” by The Doors and heard a line spoken by Jim about a child’s eggshell mind.

Indians scattered on dawn’s highway bleeding

Ghosts crowd the young child’s fragile eggshell mind.

Eggs are easy to break open, which speaks to the vulnerability of all children and their own minds. Yet eggs are also full of potential and new life—an egg has nowhere to go but up.

So not only are eggs vulnerable, but also full of life and joy and full potential—like children.

It made me think of my childhood on the slopes of Crested Butte ski resort in Colorado, a half hour North of the town I spent a good portion of my childhood—Gunnison.

I used to find myself on Double Black Diamonds where there was no choice but to ski down them. The first time was always sheer fear and trepidation, like “What if I can’t make it down?” The next times were easier and, instead of terrifying, were exhilarating.

I was also thinking about my mother and, had she been around to watch me, would have freaked out and tried to talk me out of it. To be clear, Mom was around, just not on the Double Blacks with my crazy ass.

I think kids, like eggs, can be easily cracked and broken by adults telling them what they can and can’t accomplish. Because of the state of their new minds, while easily cracked, kids have no idea what they cannot accomplish. For kids, everything is possible until they’re told otherwise. Or until they try to fly off the house like Superman and find out they cannot, after all, fly.

My point, after all this rabbit-hole ranting, is that life is like a Double Black Diamond – you put yourself in environments that feel impossible and then you beat the hell out of them by getting through them. Who knows, it might be super fun too.

You might go places you never imagined going.

The experience you get by skiing the impossible is what truly brings us the gold in life. There are many peaks and valleys in this world and within each of our own quantum fields of life.

Kids don’t know yet they can’t climb as high as they want.

They will learn.

Children do things for the sheer hell and fun of it.

Maybe we all should strive to keep our eggshell minds as, while vulnerable and breakable, full of potential to ski the nastiest Black Diamonds of life—to hell with fear and trepidation!

Walking through fear to ski the Double Black Diamonds of life can be broken down into one word: evolving.

Kids, like eggs, are ever-evolving.

What would happen if adults did the same thing?