Life can be delightful!

The best years of our life ought to be of childhood when we run around instead of walking and sing instead of speaking.

Even the tears are instant but temporary, only to express the moment of pain. The pain is forgotten too. We are impulsive most of the time. It is only later we begin to comprehend the concept of dealing with consequences.

At the conference, Oman Childhood, being currently held in Muscat, HH Dr Mona Fahad al Said, Chairperson of Children First Association, spoke about how minds of children are filled with creativity.

There is something we learn from children each time we speak to them. Their intention is not to preach, instead they are just being themselves because they would find preaching tiresome. They are too busy, you see.

Their mind is fresh unlike ours, which are filled with emotions, conditions and memories waiting to be triggered with a fragrance or a song. Children, meanwhile, are busy smelling the air, observing the insects and giggling at anything that tickle their mind.

They are just beginning to collect memories and the fascinating part is that we have an opportunity to provide them with some good ones.

Life is not that simple.

The destiny takes each one on their own unique path. There are voices to clean out from the background to hear one’s own voice. What we fail to understand is that the generation of today is no way like us at that age because the information they are exposed to is way beyond what we were used to.

The other factor is we easily forget we were once kids too.

Our source of information at their age were parents, teachers, siblings and friends maybe the news. Here now they have information streaming to them from social media to traditional classrooms. They have already formed their opinions.

We had lot of fears and those fears we unknowingly want to pass it on to the young ones. They are not so keen to take them because they are seeing so many options out there.

They are even aware when they are ill-treated.

However, emotions are the same no matter which generation one belongs to. Dignity, self respect and acceptance are all precious no matter which decade you were born.

Words once spoken, can never be deleted as it is not a recording session. A compliment is cherished forever, a hurtful comment is a burden one will carry for a long time even if they want to overcome the pain with inner strength. In comparison, a kind advise will always be remembered and will be a source of motivation.

It is the motivation that is the inner drive.

Many of us might have forgotten but if we look back you would hear those special voices again.

As a young child, my grandmother would point out a beautiful model driving a car and say you should drive like her. I immediately approved the looks of the model. At the same time, many years later I found out that I was not too keen a driver but I wanted to drive for her, my grandmother. And I did. I had that scene of conversation embedded in my mind.

Today I realise, my grandmother had lot of dreams for me, and she had never hesitated to express them. So did my mother and father. And whatever they had said had shaped my thoughts too. But life also brings in other people through out our life in different roles. It is not possible for all of them to think of your welfare because they are also storming through their life.

If it were a smooth life we would not learn so much. For it is not just knowledge that shapes us it is also emotional intelligence. If one could practice empathy, then that could be one of the best services to living things.

To be in another person’s shoes is one way of looking at it, while there are some individuals who have inborn talent when it comes to emotional intelligence.

Maybe it is the creativity in children that keeps them happy and give them the ability to bounce back to life. Somewhere along the way adults think creativity is a waste of time.

George Bernard Shaw had said something very interesting, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

And now for the youngsters these are wonderful words from him, “Life is not meant to be easy, my child, but take courage: it can be delightful.”

So no matter what stage you are in your life, remember: Life can be delightful!

Just get some creativity into life again.