"Unless you become like these little ones..."

This past year has been what I consider to be the most profound educational experience of my life and by education I mean much more than education, I mean formation. It has changed the way I see life, love, myself, and the world and I'm thankful for every moment of it and the year to come. One concept that we've no choice but to become wildly aware of here at the JPII Institute is that of 'childlikeness'. The whole idea of wonder and what beautiful divinity lies within it. We are to be children constantly in the state of wonder. We are to be sons and daughters in the Son. So, while we're known to be a group of kid lovin people anyway, I think we've all begun to pay much closer attention to the children around us always taking into consideration of course how much of childhood the world has robbed away from today's children, but mostly watching their careful attention to the profundity of simplicity and their almost innate awareness of the divine around and within them. So my job is literally to be around about 50 kids a day, doing what they do. Two things came to my attention today while at work. First, we have tons of equipment that would make any kid (even 25 year old kids like myself) squeal with joy; slides, climbs, bridges, balls, parachutes, puppets, hoops and silly songs to boot, all padded in colors the full spectrum of the rainbow. Still, while they thrive in this atmosphere there is one thing that makes them the happiest, one thing that stops all tantrums and squeals and will remove even the shyest kid from his mommy's leg; bubbles. Soapy water and a wand that blows a million tiny bubbles out onto the play floor makes these crumb snatchers completely happy. I was watching them today. They just stare in amazement at first. It's like they can't get their mind around what these magical floating translucent rainbows could be but at the same time they arent really trying to. They dance around throwing their little hands in the air trying to catch every one all the time asking for more..more ..."more bubbles!". They'll ask for bubbles from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave, never ever growing tired of them. They don't need the complete works of Von Balthasar to go into a state of complete wonder. They just need bubbles. That kind of simplicity is profound really and we immediately want to write it off as naivety. I'm reminded however of one of my favorite quotes from my all time favorite author G.K Chesterton,

"Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun and every evening, "Do it again to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike, it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we." (Orthodoxy)

Chesterton seems to imply here that that 'simplicity' that we are so quick to write off is in a sense divine. In that he agrees with our old friend Tommy Aquinas, probably unknowingly. That vulnerability or passivity, that non subsistance is powerful. Powerful.

My second observation today was a little more personal. There was one child who suddenly, without warning, after playing for 45 minutes actively, happily, and very interactively, decided that he had to love me with every ounce of his little being. He caught my eye and then, as if he'd been lost for hours, ran to me and threw his little arms around me and hugged me unceasingly for the next 10 minutes. At first I felt a little uncomfortable. I mean his nanny was smiling but I thought, this is not my kid I've got to make him let go, although I didnt really want to. He didnt seem to care that I tried to pry him off of me a few times, he'd just hug my neck even tighter and hold me as if his little heart was surrounding me with peace. I haven't felt so loved in a while. There's nothing like the love of a child, so innocent, so pure, so unconditional, so dramatic. Anyway, a few minutes later he was out the door telling me g'bye and happy to be venturing out to his next activity for the day. I on the other hand was left wishing I could have another hug. Gotta love kids, don't ya?