Children
Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.
J.W. Whitehead
I just read that quote for the first time today, and I was so moved by it. I've been noticing lately how much I learn from the students in my kindergarten class. This reminds me of another quote I love, this one from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery: "Adults never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them."
There is so much truth in that statement. Children know much more than we give them credit for. They know about tolerance, about expressing their feelings, about honesty. What happens is that adults (usually well-meaning) teach them that their way is wrong, that here on this planet we do things differently. We teach them that there is such a thing as right and wrong (and you'd better get it right!), that our feelings and our truth must stay hidden within, that people can't be trusted.
What if we stopped trying to teach them these things? What if we allowed them to do it their way? I see it every day in my classroom. When I step out of the way and let these little souls remember what they know, they express themselves in the most loving ways. They enjoy sharing their toys, complimenting each other, encouraging the boy who is always last to finish, pushing the injured girl's wheelchair. When they are mad, they let the world know (!), then they LET IT GO. They are quick to forgive, like the girl I put in time-out who told me through her tears, "I love you even when it's hard." When another child hurts them ("on the inside or outside," as we say in kindergarten), they turn to that child and say "I don't like that. Please stop."
What if that's how we behaved with each other as adults, as nations, as religions? What if we shared our gifts, pointed out the good in each other, encouraged those who don't believe in themselves? What if we allowed ourselves to really feel our anger and sadness then release it? What if we could tell those who are hurting us "I don't like that" rather than seeking revenge or walking away?
Maybe, just maybe, we have all come to this planet knowing Who We Are and how to love, but our elders have convinced us otherwise. Maybe we're the peacemakers we've been praying for.
J.W. Whitehead
I just read that quote for the first time today, and I was so moved by it. I've been noticing lately how much I learn from the students in my kindergarten class. This reminds me of another quote I love, this one from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery: "Adults never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them."
There is so much truth in that statement. Children know much more than we give them credit for. They know about tolerance, about expressing their feelings, about honesty. What happens is that adults (usually well-meaning) teach them that their way is wrong, that here on this planet we do things differently. We teach them that there is such a thing as right and wrong (and you'd better get it right!), that our feelings and our truth must stay hidden within, that people can't be trusted.
What if we stopped trying to teach them these things? What if we allowed them to do it their way? I see it every day in my classroom. When I step out of the way and let these little souls remember what they know, they express themselves in the most loving ways. They enjoy sharing their toys, complimenting each other, encouraging the boy who is always last to finish, pushing the injured girl's wheelchair. When they are mad, they let the world know (!), then they LET IT GO. They are quick to forgive, like the girl I put in time-out who told me through her tears, "I love you even when it's hard." When another child hurts them ("on the inside or outside," as we say in kindergarten), they turn to that child and say "I don't like that. Please stop."
What if that's how we behaved with each other as adults, as nations, as religions? What if we shared our gifts, pointed out the good in each other, encouraged those who don't believe in themselves? What if we allowed ourselves to really feel our anger and sadness then release it? What if we could tell those who are hurting us "I don't like that" rather than seeking revenge or walking away?
Maybe, just maybe, we have all come to this planet knowing Who We Are and how to love, but our elders have convinced us otherwise. Maybe we're the peacemakers we've been praying for.
posted by BlossomingSoul at
10:54 PM
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