Out of the Mouths .....
How important it is to slow down, take time to reflect and engage in some of the activities we set aside because we are ‘too busy’ rolling out our normal routine. Over this last couple of years, we had the opportunity to reflect on our lives and the importance of taking time to allow ourselves space to do what brings us joy, connects us to nature and clears our mind. We have even taken the opportunity to have some deep conversations with our children.
Many appear to have wisdom beyond their years and, rather than in my day when children were seen and not heard, a conversation can provide some insight into this new wave of kids.
We live as a three generational family and so there is plenty of time to watch our youngsters blossom and grow. It also provides me with time for some good conversations with my 11-year-old granddaughter. Elyssa, like her mum, is and always has been a source of inspiration to me with her smiling eyes and her thought provoking words. I realised this about her when bringing her home from kinder one day and, out of the silence she asked, “How old is God and where does She live? These are not conversations we have at home, so I should have guessed that this was just the beginning.
She asks many questions as she puzzles her way through life, obviously confused by the some of the adult approaches she witnesses; “Why are people mean to each other when there is so much to love about them?” and “How sad to see people with no homes, when I have a lovely warm bed. Why is that?” This from a child in an adult world that is more concerned with being busy to get more stuff! The very stuff we spend time clearing out once we no longer see a need or purpose for them.
I asked her about life and how she sees it.
My opening question was “Why do people do bad things?”
“Some people do not behave well because they cannot see their own light. The light is the happy, kind part of you that is inside, it’s in your heart. Some people feel it and some just know it. If they don’t know about it, they can still feel it, like a warm blanket that wraps around them. Maybe when people are cold to others, they can’t feel the warm from the light inside. I don’t know why people do bad stuff because they will always get found out and it makes other people sad".
What about people in general?
"I like people because they are kind and they are my friends and if they’re not my friends it’s just because I haven’t met them. I love my family and I feel sorry for people who are alone, because they don’t get the chance to live their life with the love and support of a family. Family is a special sort of love but if you don’t have a family, you must find other people in your life to love or you won’t feel loved. Pets give us love, so I’m not very happy about people who hurt animals. We should think that they have a life too so, we should treat them kindly and never ever hurt them".
What about caring and sharing?
"I think people should have enough of what they need to be able to live a healthy and happy life. We should share what we don’t need so everyone has enough. I think that we should look after the ocean as it is full of rubbish and plastics and that kills the fish. The land is the same, we drop rubbish and some people kill animals for fun and not for food. We have to teach people rather than punish them. If we teach them, they might understand that the world will die if we don’t look after it”.
What would be your big question?
Her biggie was fascinating, “I just need to know this, because I've always wondered, what came first the chicken or the egg. It’s so interesting because no-one has the answer. Did whoever make the world, make an egg and was surprised that a chicken came out or did they make the chicken that then laid the egg? But if I did know the answer I suppose it would take away the magic, like the tooth fairy and Santa Claus. We have to have magic; it makes us happy and it is fun. Life is magical because it has a lot of stuff in it that makes us think. There is a lot in life that is magical – pretty much everything actually. That’s my thoughts for now”.
And off she went, to play with the dog.
These children will become the world changers as they grow into adulthood and, with this foundation of wisdom, how phenomenal they will be. Insightful isn’t?