Being childlike - a life of promise and efforts - Learning with Joy

30 April 2009 and 10 May 2009

An important part of myself has been, ... an important part of my life has been to keep in touch with some precious childhood memories.

These are not really the usual childhood memories, like Christmas, parties, holidays or even people. These are more like impressions - lasting impressions. My problem has been to be able to express them. Even understanding, or 'locating'  them has proven difficult. In fact precisely because of this difficulty to understand or to locate them, the ability to express them and share them has been greatly impaired... like limited.

Today, I think that a conscious decision, an important, deep decision that somehow I - or something in me - took, was to remain faithful to these impressions and somehow bring them to life.

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A lot of my professional, entrepreneurial life has been determined - like led - by that desire and that 'implicit' decision. In fact - it seems - my professional life became about that:

              bringing to life and getting in touch with strong, lasting child / child-like feelings    

Only recently - I would say these days, do I start to learn more and approach these feelings closer again.

What are they? Whom are there? The taste of the mango lies in tasting it - words are at loss. Only today is society more willing to invest and investigate into these... Early childhood development, children feelings and intelligences are being studied with a more open mind.

In this 'conflict' or 'tension' between the growing human being and the child, it is often the growing human - more specifically the adult - already grown up - that will look at and judge the child, it is often the growing human - more specifically the adult - already grown up, that will look at and judge the child.

Shall the adults' views prevail over any other? In fact are there been even any others? Rare are the instances in our modern world. The Little Prince stands out in his confinement and solitude. Far away in history are the stories or the representation of child-king, in ancient Egypt or during the Khmer kingdom.

In a world designed for the adults to WIN, shall we be surprised that little be made to uncover what is it that the child has and the adult not?

I am not saying that children should win nor that education is a fallacy and responsibility a mirage. I am giving my best at becoming an educated, responsible adult. But where so many of us, so often fail, isn't it worth to turn back and look at the whole equation differently?

1- What can we learn from children? Is there anything that adult can learn from children?
2- When it seems that from birth the fragile infant 's life is suspended into the adults' hands - primarily the mother and father - is that that children can only take and adults give?
3-Besides love and gratitude is there anything that we adult can receive and our children give?
4- If one has to admit that yes adults will have to win, does that mean a contrario that children must lose? Above the all too common scheme of domination, dependence, sometimes contend and humiliation or their reverse - adoration and glorification - is there another path of win-win openness, education and inclusion?

In view of the multiple talents deployed by our children, the world of adults is put into question...

a/ Yes - no 5 years old created the atomic bomb or the space shuttle or the compass or the chopsticks... Nonetheless if a comparison is possible by any standards the field of possibility for each man seem to shrink with years for most.

The smart student becomes a great professor, the dynamic teenager becomes a successful businessman, the playful boy a talented architect etc... a great violinist, scientist, sportsman...at most. And for most of us, an employee, a staff, a clerk, a worker, a farmer, ...There is absolutely no shame in this status, positions, occupations... And for sure they can be the subject of much pride and accomplishment.

Just that the spectrum of resources being used, the intensity of efforts and the depth of progress being made seem to pale when you compare how much is between achieved between 0 to 6 and 7 to 77. Isn't it? Maybe it could become the subject for new researches for people who have the time and money...

b/ Another reason why we question the world of adults and its traditionally accepted dominance over the world of children is the blatant failure - and irresponsibility - the lies, the perversity that seem to pervade every level and every aspects of the adult's society

Since my daughter was born, besides becoming - maybe - a subject of pride for a loving father - she also become a subject of wonder, such wonder as I encounter with any infant: I cannot help but wondering at the great efforts - inhuman for us adults it seems - over-human efforts my daughetr is making to ajust herself to her new environment and world: conquering, managing space, time, langage, food, objects.... She goes through all those previously unknown dimensions at high speed, overcoming all obstacles one after the other.


Besides signals of pain and absolute needs, she is only smile and laugh. There is an immense sense of enterprise. What drives her?