Lesson from Children

by: Jennie S. Bev

I learn a lot from children. They are my “little teachers.” They are more than those who will inherit our world. They are our light and soul of the future. I don’t have my own children, not yet. But most children usually instantly like me. Some of them want me to cuddle them and others simply want to touch me. I have strong bonds with children, which is a blessing.

These miniature people have taught me to trust others, to live a life one day at a time, and to live to the fullest. Children live at the moment, they don’t care much about the future, unlike us adults who constantly worry about it. Just in Zen teachings, there is a saying, “Live life at the moment. Do the best you can at the moment. Worry not.”

One of my dearest nieces is Jocelyn. She is a big girl now and goes to junior high. She is one of the smartest kids I’ve ever met. She has a big dream to go to Yale and make a difference in the world. She is a good basketball player and a hula dancer. She is a top student in her class. She is just a well-rounded girl. When I was her age, I was just a bookworm (I still am, he he) and didn’t have any real aspirations. But not her. She knows where she stands and where she is heading in life.

I learn a couple of things from her: always believe in ourselves, always trust that today will bring the best in ourselves, and to live to the fullest every day, every second. Play hard, as hard as you work. Dress up from time to time, to feel good about ourselves. Be a princess for a day, because if you don’t make yourself one, nobody else will.