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As grown-ups, we often approach
children with ideas about what we can teach them about this life. It’s
true that we have important information to convey, but children are here
to teach us — just as much as we are here to teach them. They are so new
to the world and far less burdened with preconceived notions about the
people, situations, and objects they encounter. They do not avoid people
on the basis of appearance. They can be fascinated for half an hour with
a pot and a lid, and they are definitely not self-conscious in their
emotional expressions. They live their lives fully immersed in the
present moment, seeing everything with the open-mindedness born of
unknowing. This enables them to inhabit a state of spontaneity,
curiosity, and pure excitement about the world that we, as adults, have a
hard time accessing. Yet, almost every spiritual path calls us to
rediscover this way of seeing. In this sense, children truly are our
gurus.
When we approach children with the
awareness that they are our teachers, we automatically become more
present ourselves. We have to be more present when we follow — looking,
listening, and responding to their lead. We don’t lapse so easily into
the role of the director of activities, surrendering instead to having no
agenda at all. As we allow our children to determine the flow of play,
they pull us deeper into the mystery of the present moment. In this
magical place, we become innocent again, not knowing what will happen
next and remembering how to let go and flow.
Since we also must embody the role of a
loving guide, our children teach us how to transition gracefully from
following to leading and back again. In doing so, we learn to dance with
our children in the present moment, shifting and adjusting as we direct
the flow from pretending to be kittens wearing shoes on our heads to
making sure everyone is fed and bathed.
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