A Child-Like Point of View

ThomasMcGregor

Children are a wonderful addition to our lives. Whether cousins, nephews, or we are parents child light up our lives with little sparks of joy. Children enable us the opportunity to feel lighter about our lives. Have you ever watched a child at play? They are creative, innovative, and focused. The way in which a child goes about a task is like no other. We can learn from this way of thinking, applying it to our own lives.

Children are a wonderful addition to our lives. Whether  cousins, nephews, or we are parents child light up our lives with little sparks of joy. Children enable us the opportunity to feel lighter about our lives. Have you ever watched a child at play? They are creative, innovative, and focused. The way in which a child goes about a task is like no other. We can learn from this way of thinking, applying it to our own lives.

A Child-Like Point of ViewThere are many adults that can learn from a children. As adults, we tend to let everyday drama dictate how we feel and our mental state. We tend to hang on to the emotions of every experience, enabling stress in the moment and in the future. For example, you and a friend are going to dinner. As you go to park, someone pulls out right in front of you and cuts your off in the parking lot. This immediately effects your mood and makes you angry. In fact, this effects your mood for the entire day. You talk about it with other friends, family members, and possibly your partner. How does this effect the people you talk to? It brings a little be stress to them. This is not good, nor healthy for anyone involved.

What would a child do? Simple answer: Laugh.

In our adults minds we believe by getting angry at a person somehow gives what you are feeling from them back to them. In a strange way we think that by getting mad at the situation we a punishing the other person. There are many flaws in this logic. For starters, when we get mad at the other person, the other person returns the anger. This creates a cycle that will not end unless someone stops.

From a child-like point of view, when a situation or challenge arises, they laugh or try to over come it in the best way possible. Now, we’d be naive to postulate that children never get mad. Children are notorious for throwing fits over the simplest things. But, doesn’t that mean adults act like children sometimes? Without throwing punches, we should look at the positive ways in which children handle challenges presented to them.

Children have a way of looking past a perceived challenge and moving on to the next task, relatively quick. Children have a way of getting in fights, getting in trouble, and then moving on seconds later after their punishment has been fulfilled.

Children literally “go with the flow”! A Universal Law called the Law of Allowing. The law states that whatever is present in your life is perfect right now and that if you allow for it, you will enjoy the experience in a much deeper way. Like this, children have a way of moving through conflict faster and seeing better things appear than you have seen otherwise.

The clinical psychiatrist Milton R Sapirstein wrote,

To observe people in conflict is a necessary part of a child’s education. It helps him to understand and accept his own occasional hostilities and to realize that differing opinions need not imply an absence of love.

We can learn from children that their point of view is not perfect, but in how fast they move on from seemingly dramatic events. Children have a way of going right back to playing within the same hour that they are pushed for a conflicting confrontation. Most of the time, they have completely forgotten. As adults we can learn to move on quicker.

Like in the story of the two monks the crossed the water:

Two monks came to the edge of a river. There stood a woman who was looking to cross. She pleaded with the monks, “Please, I cannot cross, could one of you help me?” The master monk turned to the student, looking back to the woman, saying “Yes, he will help you.” “Thank you so much!” Was the woman’s reply. The student flashed a look of anger at the master monk, and proceeding to hoist the woman on his shoulders. After they had crossed, the monks parted was with the woman, after sharing remarks of gratitude. After a while walking alone in silence for some time, the student burst out, lashing at the master. “Why did you make me carry her? You are just as able!” The master turned calmly, looked at the student in the eye and said “Are you still carrying her on your back?”

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