A Child Born

A Child Born

A child born is a celebration. Then it turns a toy game. Alas, in no time the family goes back celebrating their past, with little conscious room for the new and its life. A reason why the children of any generation are misled is because we, the misled ones, mislead them once again.

Children grow seeing adults more as strange dogged creatures. They see us as people who lead contradictory lives. We would talk a different language, be the most humble and sweet in public life and be the ghastly, grumbling fellows in private.

They see us lying through the teeth and yet profess honesty and truth for them. They see us focussed on making money, more money and buy luxuries – like maniacs; but profess education, career and the goodness of learning. Ha! So, once you make money, learning and education is done. Hmm, so I learn so that I can make pots of money. Quite obviously then the passion to end the regime of education soonest possible takes shape. It is all about making lots of money and spending that on goods. Now I know the quick formulae of life.

Some can be crueler: at a tender age the child would also be told that when they grow big, they could take the family for travel, buy a huge house, or make a luxury of life. How magnanimous a transfer of the baton called ambition?

This perhaps is more realistic in the Indian environment, as I have a very little look into the more closed family lives of westerners.

A Child has a dream beyond making a living - even we had as children - wonder about the world - the sky, the birds, the river, the mountain, the sunrise, the various beautiful faces, the eyes of people, and the sparkle and beauty of the world around!

All that is dunked under the Grow Rich Overnight drill!

We coax them about doing it better in lives - do this, don't do that, focus on school, academics, are you the winner in what you do?..This is the better way to do it..blah..blah. The poor kid does not however see that in us one bit.

A lively, smiling, wonderful little fellow begins to disbelieve and looks for what they can do to prove to themselves that they are good. We believe that what we do is good for them. That they would take that as a challenge and whilst attempting to prove that they can do it all, they would evolve. Too hoots!

They care a damn for a handful of liars and bullies like us. They would rather prove that they are a bigger bully and a liar than we are, as a human is about doing that better every generation. A child is not born without instincts or intelligence.

That what the child was born with, once killed, it is now a journey for the child in the child to get killed, and that begins at home!

Hard truths, parents! Face that, and don’t run behind reasons, you are extremely limited in that.

Why then regret that our children are not growing as good do-ers? Our children cannot see an honourable, honest man around - not you, not anyone in your family and not anyone in the neighbourhood, not even in school. Jesus would not come down to pull our children above the rut we have created around them.

Is it difficult to see the birth of child as an opportunity to relive the innocence in us?