Children

post_id: 18 / post_date: 2009-01-19

"For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven" - Jesus Christ.
It is said that He actually meant "child-like" which Is why I LOVED Carlin when he said "Im 61 but I'm also 16 when I want to be, and sometimes I'm 2. You can always be any age you have been." The trick is in remembering and wanting to. And knowing that you can go to the future too.

"Our children are like arrows and we bows must stretch and strain and be taut that we may shoot them far, far forward" (paraphrased), "Seek not to make them like you, rather strive to be a bit more like them." - The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.

Small aside on Time:
We photograph / record because we wish to remember the past. We plan because we want control of the future. We take time to come to terms with events / notions because we're not comfortable with ourselves, what weve done what weve been etc. Remeber the past is history, the future is a mystery and the present is simply that - a gift. So live in the moment.

Other Asides
Be like the fountain that overflows. Not like the Cistern that contains (Veronika Decides to Die by Paolo Coelho)

Back to Children:
They are our best teachers. Children show us the really important things In life. How to play, how to explore and how to grow up. All the while smiling their innocence back at us with a hidden mirth about some inside joke thats buried so far inside us that we have forgotten it.

Growing Up
Then its like a movie in very slow motion. Slow to give us all the time to take it in and be a part of it. To really bend backwards and send them soaring to new heights. I'll never forget Johnny Lance's foster father Mr Van Der Byl (Diamond Hunters by Wilbur Smith) where he says "Get out of my nest and fly cuckoo!" nor how he kills himself. Birds and freedom all over again :)

Letting Go
Donald saying ever so gently to Richard: "Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends" (and family) - Illusions by Richard Bach

Asides from Bach / Bobby Matherne
"A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed. It feels an impulsion . . . this is the place to go now. But the sky knows the reasons and the patterns behind all clouds, and you will know, too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond the horizons." (same book, same link). Allow children to be just those clouds and then strive to be like them.

"Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof" Ah! I love ambiguities and this sentence is loaded with them. Can you see them? Are all members of your family still living under one roof? Now that you're grown, don't you have friends living in various parts of the city, the country, the world, that are like family to you?- The whole quote (with comment) is from http://www.doyletics.com/art/iart.htm

"That scribbled chapter in Verses 11-22 contained the story of the creatures who clung tightly to the bottom of a crystal river. One of them decides to let go of the bottom and is proclaimed a Messiah as he flies overhead of the others. He tells the clingers, "I am no more Messiah than you. The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare to go" - Bobby

Bach to Children
Illusions as you may have guessed was not a diversion. They're a set of the most wonderful lessons that if taught at an early stage to children can be an endless source of inspiration all throughout their lives. Curious Lives / The Prophet / 5th Mountain (Paolo Coelho) no less.

So we should busy ourselevs with reading books like that and try to give as much of it to our children as possible. If a whole generation of parents flexed at that rate, our children will soon be able to fling their own arrows 1000s of miles away. I can't help thinking the BAD QUOTE: "The apple don't fall far from the tree" and how I would love to erase / tear out that page from EVERYONEs notebook.

When Spartacus said "When I come back I'll be millions!", he could only have meant become children again and being born stronger are more courageous. And imagine a million Spartaci born of parents such as Gibran / Bach / Tolkien / Coelho / Pullman would inspire.

Creation's eternal struggle to evolve and seek perfection. No limits Jonathan! Just keep coming from a direction of love. Its worth repeating so: We teach best what we most need to learn.

Conclusion
A plan after this for gods greatest gift to man must and will evolve. For now I am thinking activities, Parenting Anonymous groups, Children Creativity Counsellors that help to keep us and our dearest little ones "thinking, playing, doing, smiling and loving life". Camps, Toys, Schools, Informal little groups of parents that collectively look after each other's children (Think Cathars here).

I hope that somewhere on some plane Jackman is reading all of this. Which brings us to our next topic...

Adoption
Adoption is a strong word. Selfish it is to create life of our own when there are so many lives just waiting to be loved. Why do we fail to remember the many mentors who "adopted" us. Do we not owe that back to people and especially to children? Remember - be fair to yourself. No one can EVER love you more than you love yourself. So practise love - freely! Tantra if you have to.

With that I conclude for now. Children just triggered a lot of emotions. Only wish it could have been longer and more original.