October 23, 2007

Perspective

This is another posting on children after my last one entitled Are They Not Innocent?

Most children are pretty simple in many ways. I enjoy spending time with children. I like them. They like me. If they don’t like me, they won’t be with me. If they feel good with me, they want more time with me. If they don’t want to be with me, they have no qualms about conveying it to me. Simple. No guilt about their decision to be away from me.

Children go on feelings. Their feelings are not actioned through a set of complex mental judgments - unlike how it is with adults. Relationships are a simple matter for young kids. Life would have been much better if adults thought similarly.

I want to share three simple stories here. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I am sharing it with you now:

Thanks to my friend who shared these pictures. She is one good photographer.

Bread Seller:
My friend narrated this incident when her son was so captivated watching children selling a type of bread called ‘Kaak’ in the streets of Istanbul. He got so fascinated at that new scene that unfolded before him that he refused to continue to walk alongside her, and instead insisted on watching them. So, thankfully to his delight, she stopped and let her kid enjoy the street kid vendors. At one point, he turned to her and said, "Mama, buy for me ‘Kaak’ to sell."

Bread Seller. Chose his occupation at that young age then and there, and without any guidance. Who insists we need a counsellor to sort out our thoughts?

My nephew, Keith, in Kuwaiti traditional clothes

Round and Round:
There is this incidence when a 4 year old in my family was one of my constant companions. I have often played many self-invented games with him. One of the games we used to get amused about and enjoy playing was twirling him around. He used to call it the game of playing ‘round and round.’ It was merely a game of the kind when I used to hold him firmly clasping my palms tight under his little arms, thumbs securely in place right over, and then spin him around as fast as I could in roughly circular movements. Each time he wanted to play that, he used to say, "Please turn me ‘round and round’." One particular day, I felt I did play with him for quite a while, began to feel dizzy myself and so told him, "That’s enough. If I turn you ‘round and round’ anymore, you would feel dizzy." Instantly, he responded, "Then please turn me square and square."

Mathematical genius. Euclid reborn.

Keith with his Carmel School shirt

Yellow Teeth:
Then there was this time when the same little guy was busy coloring a picture of a crocodile. As I passed by him, I noticed he was passionately filling up the outlines of the crocodile teeth with yellow colour. I stopped over to ask him, “But why yellow?” Pat came the reply, “Because the crocodile doesn't brush its teeth.”

Promoter of hygiene practice in the animal kingdom. Steve Erwin, Jr.


Children can be sensitive and wise in their own little way. Maybe they have more to teach us than we sometimes give them credit for. Children have such different perspectives.

19 comments:

MS CUTE PANTS said...

OMG Adorable...Love this post! I'm stealing the pic of Kevin in his Kuwaiti garb.

Jeana said...

hehe chilluuuuu.. hez adorable isn he?! ma lil brudder!:P din see these pics before..good stuff

indicaspecies said...

~ms. cute pants~:
Yes, he is. Go right ahead if you can reach your long arm from Bermuda to Kuwait! Hehe..Keith it is.

indicaspecies said...

jeana:
Jinxxie, cuz brudder. *hugs*

Sameera Ansari said...

Such an adorable li'l boy!Is he your son? :)

So true,we have so much to learn from children any day...

imac said...

Great photos and great stories. Have enjoyed reading, thankyou.
Very cute.

Keshi said...

Kids r adorable! They r a big part of my peace of mind.


**Their feelings are not actioned through a set of complex mental judgments - unlike how it is with adults

so true!


very cute Kid stories n pics here LOL!


Keshi.

Ananda Niyogi said...

Children are often much smarter than what we give them credit for :-)

The photos are very spontaneous - the 3rd & 4th one being the best of the lot.

Tejas said...

Hahaahaa C...these kids are awesome. I believe we should be kids all through our lives...mentally. Whats wrong if a few people find it weird.

Now I want to go hexagon and hexagon :D

Pijush said...

He is looking very cute, smart and adorable. I missed so many posts, but will gothrough each of them once I get some time. Still in vacation, will come back by next week. Take care Celine

AJEYA RAO said...

Yes indeed, children are innovative and fun to be with. I recall one such incident. While in college, we used to study for the exams near a play ground shared with primary school. One of those days they had some quiz program and the sir asked - Who invented Aeroplane? so the kids shouted - Pilot.....:-)

Cuckoo said...

Nice stories you have told us. Kids are always smarter than what we think they are.

And I liked this adorable kid very much. Also, his spontaneous look in school uniform. :-)

Anonymous said...

These are really some fabulous shots...so cute & adorable & the expressions has been captured wonderfully well & lovely reading your description...Excellent!

GMG said...

Lovely post! Beautiful stories to start your weekend! Have a great one Celine!
Gil

indicaspecies said...

sameera:
Thank you Sameera. He’s Keith, my brother’s son.

imac:
Thank you. I’m pleased that you enjoyed these stories and pictures. :)

keshi:
I’m glad that you found them cute. :)

ananda niyogi:
Thanks Ananda. I’m delighted that you liked these pictures. :)

tejas:
Hey TV, long time no see. Be like a child, and be happy. How about turning you polygonally? Like a pencil in a sharpener? Haha..

pijush:
Thank you Pijush. Hey, take your time to return to blogworld and until then enjoy your holidays. :)

ajeya rao:
Haha..sweet kids.

cuckoo:
Thank you Cuckoo. I love those pictures in his school shirt too. :)

kalyan:
Thanks Kalyan. Those expressions are natural and spontaneous. :)

gmg:
Hey Gil, thank you. I wish you a great weekend too. :)

Sigma said...

Lovely post! And the pictures are superb!
There are times when a kid's smartness can leave adults dumbfounded! :-)

Lakshmi said...

nice pictures..the kids are looking damn cute in their costumes...

Delz said...

I enjoyed reading this. Kids are the best. You don't have to pretend with them and can be just you. Sometimes, just being around them clears your head and puts things in perspective.

indicaspecies said...

sigma:
Thank you very much. I'm delighted that you enjoyed both the post and the pictures. :)


backpakker:
Thank you. It's the same kid, Keith, in all pictures. :)


delz:
I agree, and am glad you enjoyed the read. :)