It’s always intriguing how we go about our mundane lives, weaving a beautiful tapestry of relationships, forging new friendships, strengthening old ties and forgiving the iniquities of our species. We grow up having being instilled with sound virtues, discipline and exemplary living by our seniors. Flouting the rules of life, would rapture our senses to experience the fullness and abundance of God’s infinite glory.
As I was performing the duty of an invigilator, and keenly observing the students engrossed in expressing their thoughts in ink, there was quite a sizeable number of them wandering aimlessly with no concerns whatsoever. Acknowledging that feigning the wrong ideas, would in no way seal the deal, didn’t prompt them into action. Hitherto, cautioning that a blank answer booklet would be outrightly refuted, did not move them to respond with the slightest hesitation. That plunged me into contemplating on our responses to the humdrum chores of life.
Well, unlike the student who is instructed in advance, the situations we encounter in real life, needn’t necessarily prepare us for anything quite like having to get down and dirty and then eventually having to fasten our grip on the impending situation. Believing that we can tide through turbulent situations without recourse, makes us regard ourselves in high esteem. But what happens when one feigns knowledge in order to save one’s public image? The barrage of thoughts that unleash our minds – What will others think of me? Was I enough? Was I appealing enough? Was I foolhardy?
As we grow, our self-conscious image comes into play. We think deeply over our intentions while a child would respond instinctively without blemished intentions. As adults, we programme their minds, restrain their thoughts, teach them right from wrong, galvanise them into action. But children are always full of surprises and can curtail our unrealistic expectations of them in a jiffy. We expect our kids to repose all their trust and faith in us. Even though they may have to go against their own will, nonetheless, they abide with the understanding that their parents provide for their needs and sustain them under any circumstances. However, wanting our children to refine their behaviour traits, should in no way instill irrational fear in their impressionable minds which are like wet clay. Wanting your child to be excessively dependent will not create a conducive space for their indigenous growth. Let’s not stare at the same tainted window with our antiquitious thinking but rather throw open the windows and doors of our hearts and minds.
If we could pull a leaf out of their books, what lesson could we learn from them? To imbibe a childlike attitude and approach the rigours with a new leash of life, with unbiased thoughts, reverberating the joyous echoes that caper through the winds of change. This may be an expression of his humility but it reflects a vital truth when Newton was being praised for his discoveries this is what he said, “I have been like a child playing on the sea-shore, picking up pebbles here and there, while the vast ocean of knowledge lies before me.”
