Revel in the Innocence of Little Children
Perhaps you are currently the parent or the grandparent of a small child. While my extended family has several great nieces and great nephews, they are not ones that I see often or are particularly close to me. My closest experience with little children on a regular basis was approximately 20 to 25 years ago, when my nieces and nephews at that time were small children. These days, I am more of an observer from a far in watching how small children live life.
First there is the curiosity to that which is going on around them. I will be sitting in church, or at a park, and certainly the real small ones, (say under one year of age), will be staring intently at something that catches their attention. Even those that are a little older, will observe something going on and around them and innocently ask those close to them, why something is the way it is. And, while there are times that one may want to protect a child from things which may harm them, often if the answer is safe enough, it is a way the child learns about the world around them.
Another thing that I love about children is that they are open to befriending others in their age group. They tend not to worry about things such as race, gender, wealth, or status that adults sometimes let get in their way, but focus on basis things in making their decision. Do you like to play with the same toy or game as me? Will you share that with me? I will give you this toy if you give me that toy. Simple, discussion, bartering and ideally learning how to play together.
Many years ago, at a job search support group I remember a speaker talking about learning the basics of networking is something we learned in kindergarten. Play nice with each other. Ask the other person what they like to do and tell them what you like to do. Ask a playmate if you can help them with something. For all intents and purpose, we are born innocent. We tend to become jaded, hesitant, and set in our opinions as we experience more or are “taught,” whom we should like and whom we should not. While such reactions are seen as protection mechanisms, they often can hold us back from truly experiencing that which we need to move forward in our lives.
I had the opportunity over the last several months to watch home movies of myself as a child with my siblings growing up. It allowed me to again see my father and mother at the ages when they raised us and instilled values into us. Additionally, it allowed me to see many family relatives again, and reflect on the values I learned from them. Were all the lessons of a positive nature? No, not every occasion is a positive experience. However, it has helped to shape who I am today. Many of those values are still a part of me. Those that may not be, I may have “re-learned,” by being open to additional experiences with others that I continued to meet at later points in my life. And, still others were reshaped in open discussion sessions with those experienced enough to help me sort out my feelings.
So, the next time you are around a small child, or observe little children that are around you in the moment, remember that you were once as innocent as they. Reflect on what values were instilled in you from your very early years that you still carry forward with today. And, also determine what may have led you to redefine your values at various points of your life. The experiences help shape the person you are, the person you are that helps others, and the person you hope to be going forward.
