childhood – Momo's Musings

For me, Ponyo is a comfort movie. It gets mixed reviews on its content and movie progression, ranging from appreciation to mild irritation at the storyline. I feel like a lot of people forget that as a children’s movie, Ponyo does not need the most believable plot (or a more subtle colour palette). The beauty and appeal of Ponyo is that it takes a deep dive into how a child’s mind perceives their life. The world is bright and mysterious, full of new discoveries every day. The quote written on the official movie poster is literally welcome to a world where anything is possible.

Ponyo – the movie’s namesake – is first introduced as a charming aquatic creature with a fierce desire to explore the world beyond her home. Her wishes are so strong that they grow, and grow, until they manifest into human limbs and a human head. Leaving behind her undersea life, siblings, and apprehensive father, she starts a journey of exploration… leading her right into the life of Sosuke.

Sosuke is a human child, with a picturisque life in an seaside village of Japan; he sees the world through eyes filled with wonder. He cares for every single person in his life, with Ponyo being no exception. When Sosuke’s mom is frustrated with his dad, he convinces her to signal a message to him together. When Sosuke is asked whether he will love Ponyo the same as a fish or a human, his honest answer is an immediate yes. Through every step of the way in his adventure with Ponyo, Sosuke represents the pure adoration that you feel for others as a child, towards your friends and family alike.

Together, Ponyo and Sosuke represent two aspects of childhood in the movie: larger-than-life, hopeful dreams and pure, perpetual love. This is a movie that transports viewers back into those experiences. It was entirely and wholly intended to be as bright, as dreamlike, as romantic, and as carefree as it was.

So, maybe we all need some more Ponyo in our lives. A little more of fierce desires unclouded by doubts, and a little more of unadulterated love for those around us. We should embody this part of our childhood throughout our existence, because its too short to not give it your all.

Let us tuck away, into a corner of our mind, a small voice that echoes to ourselves: welcome to a world where anything is possible.

Photo Credit: *Not on the High Street, the Home of Thoughtful Gifts*

Wow, what a busy start to the school year, am I right?

This isn’t one of my conventional positivity posts. Nonetheless, I think that it deserves to be in this section of my blog — some songs that had us laughing and clapping as toddlers are the same ones that we can smile back on now. However, we have some thinking to do about them as well.

First thing first. When was the last time you heard a nursery rhyme? Maybe it wasn’t too long ago, and you heard it on TV. Or you have a younger cousin, for who you dug out some child friendly songs from the back of your mind and sang to. Or maybe the last time you heard one seems like eons ago, long ago days where you yourself were still sucking your thumb and needed a lullaby every night to be put to sleep.

When I think of lullabies, I fondly remember times of the past — I used to love lullabies for bedtime. When I got a little older, I ran around playing Ring Around the Rosies and London Bridge.

But when nursery rhymes came to my mind a few days ago, I was taken away by a sharp realization… why are so many about them about passing away? It’s Raining It’s Pouring, Humpty Dumpty, Ring Around the Rosies, and London Bridge all have an underlying theme of death in they’re songs. The old man hit his head and couldn’t get up again, Humpty Dumpty’s pieces weren’t put back together again, rings around a rose shape on the body are a sign of the Black Death, and the London Bridge would’ve seen fire during the great London Fire. Unknowingly, children sing about these issues during playtime. At a young age, kids don’t know what they’re about, but as they grow up, those lyrics become a segway into difficult topics.

Now that I have that thought out of the way, there are other lullabies that actually teach us important parts of life before we even know that we’re being taught them. For example, when we were babies, it is possible that lullabies helped our memories and promoted language learning skills. Even today, some people find that singing a few facts or rhyming their notes help them memorize better. Songs also support creativity. Finally, classical music also supports memory and concentration.

Other children’s songs are also pretty poetic, if you ask me. Row, Row, Row your Boat has a line that says ‘life is but a dream’. Another one is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Really, when you think about it, some of the rhymes are as poetic as the ballads of today.

And don’t get me started on the songs of other cultures and languages. That’s a whole different post entirely!

Here’s some soft music that you can listen to to remember the power of lullabies:

This is an orchestral piece that can help you sleep and/or study.

Disney songs are always great! Listen to these tunes while trying to concentrate on work!

Finally, some classical music!

Stay tuned, and stay happy! : )

P.S. For more of my positivity posts, check out that section of my blog! These posts help me live a happier life, and I hope they can help you too!

Tag: childhood

Happiness: Nursery Rhymes