I was observing my 10 month old boy recently and was fascinated by how much I learned from him about myself and adults in general.
The things I noticed about my boy were:
• very attentive, inquisitive and observant
• very aware of his surroundings and will instantly react to anything that captures his attention, be it sound, sight or smell
• has no fear in exploring and interacting with anything
• joyful and playful spirit
• learns something new every day because of the above
It then struck me that most adults have lost these basic instincts and beneficial attributes of childhood. Obviously, boundaries through guidance of the child must be laid down eventually, but in most cases we have all but conditioned our children’s minds to become dull, unaware and fearful by the time they reach adulthood.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming (well, maybe I am) parents, teachers and other authority figures for the sorry state of the world, but we must be careful not to impose too much of ourselves onto our children which can debilitate their own personal growth. After all, don’t we all want to produce wise, intelligent, conscious adults who can make this world better than it is now?
We as adults can learn so much from children and from the way their minds work.
Each and every adult should ask themselves:
1. How wonderful would it be if my mind and spirit could “become the child” once again instead of the opposite?
2. How much better would my life be if my mind was as sensitive, fearless, free, fresh and alive as a child’s mind?
3. How much more would I learn in life if I was as attentive, inquisitive and observant as a child?
4. How much joy would I take out of life if I had the spirit of a child?
This should make you think twice before dismissing children as just mindless playthings.
From now on, I don’t think I will be taking myself too seriously in life. Thank you, my son for teaching me a very important lesson...just don’t ask me to change your nappy or wipe your nose after this.
A man trying to find some semblance of truth in this life of illusion. Before finding 'Truth', I first need to liberate my mind from all conditioning and then expand its horizons by attaining self-knowledge.
When Jason takes a break from his quest towards personal development and writing down his own observations on life at http://www.knowledgereform.com/ he is a full-time father, IT Technician and part-time football coach to his ambitious 10 month old son.