My Favourite Songs of 2014

MGMT – Kids

I just thought this song seemed catchy at first. Then actually listened to the lyrics and found a deeper message: I was feeling really stuck trying unsuccessfully to break old patterns of family conditioning that have held me back, and I think my unconscious was trying to tell me something:

You were a child,
crawlin’ on your knees toward it.
Makin’ mama so proud,
but your voice was too loud.

We like to watch you laughing.
You pick the insects off plants.
No time to think of consequences.

Control yourself.
Take only what you need from it.
A family of trees wanting,
To be haunted.

I grew up in a pseudo-religious family with a controlling mother and learned to control myself in order to seek her love and approval, rather than learning to express my true self. I became hypervigilant, always worrying and over-thinking the consequences of everything.

I’m not a Christian any more, but I now understand what Jesus really meant when he was quoted in Matthew 18:3 as saying: “Unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven”: Being in a non-judgemental state of flow like a kid is heaven.

So now, I seek to live my life spontaneously and intuitively, with a child-like sense of wonder and joy. Doing what your mum approves of isn’t the only nor the most important thing in life. Take only what you need from your family of origin, and discard the baggage that doesn’t work for you: