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Today's
Quotation:
Children
have a remarkable talent for not taking the
adult world
with the kind of respect that we are so
confident it ought
to be given. To the irritation of authority
figures of all sorts,
children expend
considerable energy in “clowning around.”
They refuse to appreciate the
gravity of
our monumental concerns, while we forget that if
we were
to become more like children our concerns
might not be so
monumental.
Conrad Hyers
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Today's
Meditation:
It's
not such a big deal, I often tell my adult friends as they
worry about their jobs, their responsibilities, their homes,
and so many other aspects of their lives. I know that
these things are very important, but in my experience, I've
almost never seen my adult friends not take care of these
responsibilities, no matter how much worrying they've done
about them. And once the responsibilities are taken
care of, then all of the worrying was for naught-- just
wasted time that could have been spent on something else
much more enjoyable than worrying.
Kids
know things have to be done, but they aren't as caught up in
timetables or deadlines as we are. They aren't as
worried about what other people will think of them if they
do something a bit late, or if they forget to take care of
something. Somehow, the world will go on, they
know. I know many people who almost never relax,
almost never play, almost never enjoy themselves just by
being silly. Their lives have become somehow grey and
dim, and their concerns have grown to overpower or overwhelm
them.
I
firmly believe that adults aren't here to teach kids how to
live-- kids are here to teach us about life, if only we're
willing to take lessons from them. Their perspectives
are refreshing and uplifting, and their ability to live life
to the fullest can teach us much about life and
living. We respect the institutions of the "adult
world" because we're supposed to respect them, but the
only reason they stick around is because not enough people
question the "wisdom" behind them. Are we
really more respectable when we wear a suit and tie?
Are our most productive hours really between eight and
five? Do we really have to be so serious all the time?
Yes,
it's important that we somehow respect the institutions of
life, but if we take them too seriously, we run the risk of
losing a lot of fun in life. And I'm completely
convinced that life was meant to be fun, and that we are
meant to learn how to have fun by learning from the children
who are all around us, and who don't take life too
seriously.
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