My pastor recently painted the perfect picture of a carefree spirit for the congregation. He said he lives behind an elementary school, where the children all do the same thing every day before and after school: “runnin’ and hollerin’”, and that it only takes one child doing so to get the entire group on board. The notion made me think of the phrase “when in danger, when in doubt, run in circles scream, and shout”. Of course children don’t need to be in danger or in doubt to engage in this mindless behavior, so their motto seems to be “never mind what it’s about, run in circles, scream and shout.”
Passing through the market the other day, I passed a number of children out grocery shopping with their parents. While I was not in the mood to be there, they were perfectly content and even happy to be there. One little girl (4 or 5 years old) burst into a particular fit of joy while passing the pickle section in an isle. “Pickles! Pickles!”, she declared, jumping up and down. Her joy continued up and down each isle I passed her in. Kids are happy with little to no reason at all. They’re candid and they live in the moment. I think that’s part of why I enjoy working with them so much.
Also, in most cases they haven’t learned to be prejudiced or guarded yet. They just want to have fun and be loved. I got the most overwhelming sense of this the other day while I was babysitting. I was looking after four children (ages 4, 5, 7, and 11) and at some point they all surrounded me as I read to them. I was reading Thumbelina while two of the kids sat in my crisscrossed lap, one sat beside/behind me with his chin over my shoulder and the last one sat in a chair behind me, playing in my hair. Except for one of those children, that was my first time to meet the kids. They get so close so fast.
Breeze, one of the children I regularly babysit, smiling without a care.
I was inspired to write about this today, because of an urge I had in one of my classes earlier, that made me wish I were a kid. In my writing class, we looked at two School House Rock videos (Conjunction Junction & Interjections). I had a natural urge to sing along, but because I’m 18, in college, and “an adult”, who was surrounded by a group of silent spectators who surely knew the songs as well, I didn’t, at least not at first. When I did start to sing along, it certainly wasn’t audible. I thought to myself, if I were a kid it would be perfectly acceptable for me to sing out loud right now. However, as I reflected on it later, I realized that if I were a kid I wouldn’t have cared whether or not it was “acceptable”. In fact, I wouldn’t have thought about it or asked any questions at all. I would just do it. Seems Nike’s motto isn’t their own after all, and that children have dibs on that one.
In any case, while my age does require me to think first and control my impulses, there are a few things that I could learn from children. To start I can have a childlike sense of contentment, which would probably help to assuage the level of stress I often find myself dealing with (seriously, lately my pimples have been worse than when I was going through puberty – that is stress!). Next, I’d like to be more candid and less politically correct. I know how that sounds and I’m okay with that. That attribute is what makes children more honest than those who have passed the stage of childhood. Last, but not least, I want to be without prejudice and let down my guard, so that I can grow closer to others. Of course I bear in mind that such a spirit would allow people to hurt me more often and more easily. A child’s ignorance of this is what makes their easy and abundant friendships bliss. I can’t revert back to that ignorance, but I can choose not to let it weigh on my mind so heavily, when I am interacting with others and attempting to form long-lasting relationships.
In any case there is hope for me yet, because like anyone else, I have never lost the childlike desire to have fun and to be loved.
P.S. If you liked this song, check out this artist:
Taylor Swift
