Through the Eyes of a Child (596 hits)
Category: GeneralRating: 1.77 on 18 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (View user info) at 2006-09-19 12:25:50 EDT
Have you ever considered the world as it's seen through the eyes of a young child? On many occasions I've watched young children interacting with their surroundings and felt a pang of jealousy. Everything they see is new, something to experience, something to explore. There've been many times when I've wished I could hear their thoughts or share the experience and understand it's meaning to them. The difference in perception seems so great to me and really a little unfair, that as we get older things lose their beauty, the world becomes a burden instead of a joy.
Examples of this can be found everywhere. How many young kids have you seen sitting on a lawn running their palms across the tips of the grass to feel it tickle, they seem to enjoy the very feel of the grass as it caresses their palms. I, on the other hand, look at that same lawn and instead immediately seeing something to play with, to feel, to experience see a lawn that I'll have to mow on a hot day, nothing more than another dreary chore.
Walking with my son when he was a toddler I'd watch as he'd veer off course to touch the bark of a tree, to stand beneath it and look up through its canopy, sometimes even taking the bark and putting it in his mouth. I've wondered then, if he sees the tree as some strange person or maybe a source of food when all I immediately take in is the fact that in the fall I'm going to have a pile of leaves to rake up.
I've been amazed to watch young children as they encounter a rock in their path. It's incredible to watch them pick up the rock, thoroughly inspect it and then throw it the ground, often, only to repeat the process again. I might kick at a rock in my path as I walk but I am never compelled to give it a full inspection, it's just a rock.
The simplest things are wondrous to children, rocks, card board boxes, Styrofoam peanuts, water, even dirt. It all seems to call to them and implore them to play, to touch, to taste, to experience. How is it that as we grow older we lose this curiosity? Is it simply a matter of familiarity? Is it the toll of responsibility? Or maybe it's something older, some matter of evolution that dictates that as you know the world around you more and more you no longer need the inquisitiveness that a child possesses. Maybe for our ancestors, after the period of learning was over, the perception of a child was a dangerous attribute.
Sadly I see my son losing this as he grows older. He's less and less apt to give attention to the mundane and simple things that can captivate a younger child and it saddens me to know that he faces a future devoid of that inherent curiosity that drives children to learn about their world. Then I consider myself and feel that pang of jealousy, knowing that I too once had the child's perception; that I too once wondered, was inspired, and was intrigued by the simplest of things in life.
I see beauty in the world around me and I still get curious but I know that I must be missing so much, that there's so much more to this world, that I would see it all and be captivated by it all if only I could see things through the eyes of a child.
User Reviews
Submitted by Merlina (user info) at 2006-09-20 10:16:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
lovely
Submitted by Flying_buttmonkey (user info) at 2006-09-20 03:17:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
These were pretty words.
I surround myself with plants and get no end of joy looking at them, but it's not a wonder thing. It's a 'oooh, preeeety' thing. I don't think it's the same.
Submitted by I_love_Kracka (user info) at 2006-09-19 22:54:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-09-19 15:26:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Once I stuck my erect wang through the eyes of a--
ahem.
I blame Bush.
Submitted by Sphagnum (user info) at 2006-09-19 15:17:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by MyTeeOne (user info) at 2006-09-19 14:08:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm inmature, so I still do.
Nice post.
Submitted by Orgasmatron (user info) at 2006-09-19 13:55:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This weekend I came across a ton of old family movies that my dad had converted to VHS.
The audio didn't carry over, but it was interesting to watch myself at 14 months, 2 years, 5 years, etc. Such a different world back then. Such a different me.
Submitted by Amontillado (user info) at 2006-09-19 13:34:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Responsibility, familiarity.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-09-19 13:29:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Berty should have a field day with this post...
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2006-09-19 13:25:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
No Comment
Submitted by Crystle (user info) at 2006-09-19 13:12:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
+2 wistful
Submitted by texashartattack (user info) at 2006-09-19 13:11:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
tree bark...yummy
Submitted by firefly (user info) at 2006-09-19 13:08:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-09-19 12:50:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i still do that stuff.
just because it isn't new doesn't mean it's not still amazing.
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2006-09-19 12:47:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Beautiful.
And I'm not just saying this: This is what psychoactive drugs are for, in my opinion- altering perceptions and experiencing things in new ways.
Don't believe me? Drop some mescaline and go lie in the grass and look at the clouds for a while.
Submitted by morontian (user info) at 2006-09-19 12:36:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
In a generation or two this will cease to be a problem. I think those unfortunate bastards would disagree with you if they could.
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2006-09-19 12:35:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I believe it is a filter.
Image recognition etc.
Good post.
Submitted by St_Jimmy (user info) at 2006-09-19 12:34:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This was lame. But the title told me that much and I read it anyway, so I guess it's my fault.
But,
"sometimes even taking the bark and putting it in his mouth"
made me laugh out loud. (Insert inappropriate child-tree fellatio joke here)
Tell your kid to stop eating nature.