Niece.....

Watching my four year old niece talk and play, is a revelation of sorts. We all know that “children” are important in society. Not only because they represent “The Future” but indirectly, they make us realize our own (adults’) idiosyncrasies! 

We all were like kids at one point of our lives, wherein we experienced pure love and also gave pure love unhindered to everyone and everything around us. That leads to the question – is THAT our default mode of operation – to be non-judgemental, to have no boundaries at all, to have extremely simple ideas of people and to only understand the language of love? We went anywhere (no idea of territorial boundaries), to anyone (no idea of social boundaries), at any time (no idea of customs) and wore anything (no idea of property) and ate anything or drove anything or took anything or gave anything (no idea of value or possession). In short, we were carefree. In such a state of mind, we are mouldable to anything or any influence that creates an impact on young minds.

What happens to us on the way  - as we grow up? We create boundaries (“imaginary” at first and then converting those into hard ones), run after possessions, share cautiously, love conditionally (!) and do all sorts of weird stuff in life. And we maintain a stock of a lot of things – from money to cars to property to feelings to guilt to hatred to revenge to expectations and what not!! So, we contract and just inculcate fear over everything. Was this supposed to happen this way?

Perhaps this is growth – perhaps this is survival mechanism. But we need to come to a point where we realize the boundaries we set for ourselves and realize that such boundaries hamper our own potential to express ourselves fully or completely. The crux is understanding ‘fear’  - that primordial feeling that is generated as survival instinct. The fear is of existential nature and we can feel it, without any specific immediate or physical threat. It is not the fear of hunger or clothing or shelter. It is the fear of knowing of our limitations stemming from finite idea of ‘life’ and finite idea of place and time. We are aware of the finite tendencies of body and this generates a complex range of thoughts. And we run! 

The idea is to acknowledge the finiteness of the body, but to uplift the mind to an infinite idea of timelessness. I guess, the only thing to be watchful of  - is our relationship with ‘Time’ – is Time finite for you and thus you need to keep accomplishing something or does our mental existence have got anything to do with ‘finite’ destinations? 

The understanding of ‘Time’ – as an idea and as a force that impacts us, will lead you to question your boundaries and start to loosen yourself from the unnecessary fear and the consequent “pace” you define for yourself. It will make you realize that money, property, possessions, place, people are just incidental/ notional. It is what relation we build with them that matters most. It is with what thought we see ourselves (and thought being contextual) that holds the key to liberation.

Thus, we start to become a “child” again, but with full awareness this time! This requires practice. It is not impossible.