Many children are drawn to the water. They run in for a cannonball,
using all the breath within them to squeal as they leap off the edge of a
pool with delight. There is no other care in the world in that moment,
other than to feel the water, again and again. Children feel everything.
This
dissipates with age. Why do we not jump in for a cannonball just the
same? Even if we jump in alongside them, we take many thoughts and
doubts and prejudices along with us — no wonder a child can reach the
top of the water with such buoyancy. There is no other weight they
carry. Just joy.
We can learn so much from the child, but this
isn’t a matter of attempting to lessen our own constitution or to worry
less. It’s about helping to elongate the genuine connection a child
feels with his own life and the invigorating environment around him.
When
we step away from a learning opportunity and allow the child to cut his
own bread in two, to tie his own shoe or to make it to the edge of the
pool with his own bravery and our smile in sight, the child is awarded
an appreciation that we no longer feel. And, that kind of appreciation
only extends the enchantment of every encounter life brings — every
splash, every shadow, every flower that’s bigger than it was the day
before. The child sees things so reverently — including us — why would
we ever want to disrupt that view?
The water is such a big
learning space. There’s power and a lack of mercy and so much allure at
play. Even as an adult, we can be drawn to the water simply for its
juxtaposition of tranquility and ferocity. Children feel this, too, but
rather than fear the unknown, they crave the sensation of it. When we
watch a child spin his little body like a fish or watch an infant splash
wildly with gladness, we don’t see any reservation or hesitation, we
only see gratitude. They see any body of water as something that is
indeed bigger than themselves, but if we allow them the space to do so,
they arrive to the edge with a spirit that matches the power of the
water, and they deserve to feel and live in that purity for as long as
they can. How can we help them in that?
Montessori says, “The
child is a well-spring of love. Whenever we touch the child, we touch
love. It is a difficult love to define; we all feel it, but no one can
describe its roots or evaluate the immense consequences which flow from
it, or gather up its potency ...” May we welcome the child to greet the
day like this for years to come.