Unless You Are Like Children

Being a parent is not an easy job. It’s not that easy to teach young human beings how to enjoy and appreciate this life when maybe we didn’t enjoy it ourselves. So, let’s begin with looking at our children and learn from them before we try to teach something we don’t know or have forgotten.

Yes, children are our teachers too. If we pay attention and learn from them, life would be heavenly for us all.

You might have read that Jesus said something like “unless you are like children you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.” No, this is not a Sunday class; it is only the understanding of a teaching and how it can benefit our lives now.

You see, I don’t see heaven as a place somewhere up there. Rather, I see it as an emotional state down here on earth -heaven on earth.

Heaven on earth is when you are hopeful, positive, happy, understanding, caring, joyful and feel satisfied while living in this world. It is when you are living most of your time in positive emotions of at least 60 as shown in The Joy Scale.

We're all born hopeful and eager for this earthly experience. But little by little, negative experience after negative experience, we begin to accumulate negative emotions and learn to live with them.
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That’s right; as we grow older we become used to living with those negative emotions. We don’t even know we’re doing it, we don’t even know how we’re doing it, and much less know how we’re going to go back to feeling good and happy again.

How are children?

I want to clarify that being like children is not the same as being childish. Adults being childish is being foolish and acting immature. Being a child is just being, being in the preset, no baggage, no drama. Toddlers are the best teachers.
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Here’s a small list of things I’ve learned from my children in the last few years:

1. Children don’t see why everything is a big deal
2. Children forgive fast and don’t hold grudges
3. Children follow their instincts and are always striving for joy
4. Children focus on the present and do only things they enjoy
5. Children are eager for experience and don’t get discouraged when it’s not positive
6. Children are persistent until they reach their goal
7. Children want everyone to see what they’ve done and are not focused on perfection
8. Children are humble and see all people as equal
9. Children don’t have negative personality traits
10. Children trust in a good future and expect to get what they desire

Next time you see children being children, let them be, observe and learn so you can also experience heaven on earth.

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Now tell me, what have you learned from children?