SERIES: SHADES OF HUMAN LIFE
Sometimes I wonder if we really miss our childhood.
Or maybe…
we simply miss the person we used to be.
The version of ourselves who didn’t overthink every decision.
Who didn’t compare themselves to others.
Who didn’t worry about fitting in.
Who wasn’t afraid of being judged.
We simply lived.
And perhaps that is the greatest gift of childhood.
Not our age.
But the way we experienced the world.
My Childhood Smelled Like Freedom
I grew up during the 1980s and 1990s.
When I close my eyes today, I don’t remember expensive toys.
I remember emotions.
Playing football from morning until sunset.
Sitting outside my apartment building with friends for hours.
Riding our bikes without a destination.
Inventing games that didn’t need rules.
Hearing my mum call from the window:
„Piotr! Dinner’s ready!”
And replying,
„Just five more minutes!”
鈥攚hich usually meant another hour outside.
I remember running home only long enough to grab a sandwich before rushing back outside.
We didn’t need much.
A football.
A few friends.
A little imagination.
And somehow…
it felt like we had the whole world.
We Celebrated the Smallest Moments
What I miss most isn’t a particular time.
It’s a way of feeling.
Back then, the smallest things could bring enormous happiness.
A new football.
The first snowfall.
Ice cream after school.
A family trip.
An afternoon spent laughing with friends.
We celebrated those moments as if we had just won an Olympic gold medal.
Without irony.
Without pretending to be cool.
Without immediately looking for the next thing.
We were fully present.
Today, I often notice how many of us experience life only for a moment.
We take a picture.
Post it online.
And before we’ve truly lived the moment…
our minds are already somewhere else.
Life Felt Simpler
I remember mornings with fresh milk delivered in glass bottles.
The smell of warm bread from the local bakery.
Fresh fruit and vegetables from neighborhood markets.
There weren’t supermarkets on every corner.
There weren’t endless choices.
Life simply felt…
simpler.
Perhaps not because the world itself was better.
But because we lived closer to nature.
Closer to people.
Closer to everyday life.
Today we have more opportunities.
More technology.
More convenience.
More choices than ever before.
Yet so many people say they feel overwhelmed.
Maybe we don’t actually miss the past.
Maybe we miss simplicity.
When Did We Stop Being Ourselves?
As children, we never wondered whether we were good enough.
We didn’t measure our worth by followers, likes, or achievements.
We weren’t afraid of looking silly.
We laughed loudly.
We got dirty.
We fell down.
We stood back up.
We simply existed as ourselves.
Then, little by little, we started putting on masks.
Be professional.
Be successful.
Be productive.
Be responsible.
Be everything the world expects you to be.
And somewhere along the way…
many of us left behind the most authentic part of ourselves.
That Is also Why C.U.D. Was Created
The more I reflect on it, the more I realize that C.U.D. was never truly about travel.
Travel is only the road.
The real destination is something much deeper.
Helping people remember what it feels like to be fully alive.
To laugh without a reason.
To spend hours talking around one table.
To put their phones away.
To watch a sunset鈥攏ot because it looks beautiful on Instagram…
but because they’re actually seeing it.
That is the experience I dream of creating through every C.U.D. retreat.
Not a return to a specific place.
Not a return to a specific year.
But a return to the part of ourselves that still knows how to enjoy life.
To our inner child.
Because it never disappeared.
We’ve simply stopped listening to it.
What From Your Childhood Is Still Alive Within You?
Maybe you still enjoy walking barefoot on the grass.
Maybe you still laugh with your whole heart.
Maybe the smell of fresh bread still makes you smile.
Maybe you still stop to watch a sunset.
Or maybe…
that part of you has quietly faded beneath responsibilities, deadlines and expectations.
If that’s true…
perhaps you don’t need another goal.
Another achievement.
Another course.
Perhaps what you really need…
is to remember who you were before the world told you who you should become.
Because I believe the greatest journey isn’t traveling across the world.
The greatest journey…
is finding your way back to yourself.
Conclusion
I don’t wish I could become a child again.
What I wish for…
is to experience life the way I did back then.
With curiosity.
With wonder.
With gratitude for simple moments.
With the courage to simply be myself.
Because maybe…
the best version of who we are has never disappeared.
It has simply been waiting patiently for us to come back.
Different Backgrounds. One Heart. 鉂わ笍
No matter where we grew up.
No matter what our childhood looked like.
Every one of us still carries a little boy or a little girl inside.
Quietly waiting for permission…
to smile again.
