indépendance

One would probably question? “What do children know about freedom?” I would have to answer, “Children know all there is to know about freedom.” To be a child, to think without inhibitions, to not caution yourself during every task or efforts in work is true freedom. They are both imaginative and easily excited. They know what true independence feels like, unless . . . we as human beings have shielded them from these feelings. Unless we have made it our cause to halt or stunt their growth, not provide them with the essentials of care, nurture, food, and education. Unless we have shackled them with the chains of our thoughts and actions–burdening with a weight far too hard to carry on their shoulders.

They show their true selves to you whether they want to or not. There is no debating about this, they just do. They are brutally honest and usually make mistakes without truly knowing that they are making them. You want to know how someone really feels about you, ask a child. You may not get the answer you were hoping for, but you are guaranteed to get the truth. When I say child, in description to age, I am speaking about ages 4-8. During this time period, you’re sure to tap into the purity of a solid, fully-functioning, and hopeful mind. Children very rarely feel the need to impress at this stage in life. What they know and what they want usually line up–are in sync.

It is amazing to watch them grow in stages with regards to their opinions and personalities too. I have had the beautiful gift of being significantly older than my siblings and having younger cousins around me all throughout life, and not to mention my friends’ children, so I can vouch for all aspects of what I am sharing with you here. Independence, if you want to know the true meaning of it, want to feel the depth of its embrace, and yearn to find yourself swinging in the boughs of its acceptance, watch a child. Better yet, watch a group of them.

I assure you, freedom will never feel as free.