Kinlei’S Adventures in Telos

Listen to children’s imaginations, as they always tell the truth. When do children start to use their imaginations to create desired outcomes? Are they pretend or real?

When my son was three years old, he looked at me and said, “Mom, I was Billy the Kid in my last life.” You can imagine my surprise! Where did that come from? I asked him if there was anything else he wanted to tell me, and he said no and returned to playing with his toy cars.

I thought on that a lot. Where would a three-year-old come up with a story like that? Had he lived before? Did he dream it, or did he imagine it? Does the past create the future? He never spoke of Billy the Kid again and does not remember it to this day, but anytime he said, “Mom, can I tell you something?” after that, I always stopped what I was doing and listened. I didn’t want to hear some things he said as he got older, but to this day, he always tells me his dreams and desires. I hope my just listening to him had something to do with that.