by alex | Jan 24, 2012 | BE ______
It’s hard to remember all those years back. Close your eyes for a second and try to recall what it was like being 5. Being small. Being free from work, responsibility, pressure. We often look down on these little, grubby, constantly talking people with almost a sprinkle of patronisation and think, ‘Ah, how far I’ve come!’ ‘How much wiser, smarter, more important I am now than I was then!’ But I think we’ve got plenty of lessons to learn from our 5 year-old selves. Children are: Charmingly friendly. Do you smile at strangers all the time just for fun? Children do. Incredibly open. You only have to know them 2 seconds to hear their deepest secrets, greatest loves, and biggest fears. Us worldly-wise adults take weeks, months and years to reach that stage with the people we consider closest to us! Constantly questioning. Why? How come? What is it? Children understand that the best way to learn is through questions. So they just let ‘em flow! Always exploring. Got a big tree? A high staircase? A ladder propped up against something? You better believe that kid will be up it before you turn around! Children don’t hesitate to get out there see what there is to see. Unbelievably resilient. Perhaps this is a natural result of all the tree-climbing-and-consequent-falling, but have you noticed how children seem to handle some of life’s hardest knocks with grace and ease? Divorce, pain, death, tragedy, criticism … somehow even at their tender age kids are able to pull through and keep smiling. So give your younger self some credit – you had a...
