By Volunteer Chandamita Bora, FHI Guwahati
Children, to me, are like little explosives of energy – ready to burst anytime. Spending time with them is like celebrating eco-friendly Diwali – their bright smiles shining brighter than thousands of Diyas together.
Fly Higher India – FHI has been a blessing to me, and a mere mention of it makes me feel thankful towards the Almighty. Although I am still quite new to volunteering, I have always wanted to do something like this, something that can help me utilise my potential as a human being. Joining FHI was a dream come true. Just one event young, yet my mind is full of vivid memories from that day. We, the volunteers, went to teach the lovely kids but surprisingly enough, we learnt way more ourselves. That’s the highest value anything can ever achieve, where all the parties interacting get benefitted in one way or the other.
I believe that there’s something to learn from each and everyone we meet, but mostly we don’t imbibe those lessons in our lives – maybe cause they can’t hold our interest or they don’t seem important enough. But when it comes to children, they will make sure the lesson gets deeply engraved in our heart. That’s the charm of childhood.
One of the most prominent lessons that a few moments with children is enough to teach you is living in the moment. They truly treat the present as a gift, cherishing every little drop of life dripping from each moment. They might not understand the meaning of life, but they effortlessly master the art of living.
The only thing children lack that we don’t is experience and we happen to think that it makes all the difference. But does it, really? What good does being aware of the bad do if it makes us blind towards the good in the world? What good does experience do if it only renders us unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel while complaining about the darkness holding matches and a candle in each hand?! Wouldn’t it be better if we didn’t lose our rose tinted glasses while stepping into adulthood?
I’m a reserved person by nature and have a hard time interacting with people. Social events are my worst nightmare. I feel clueless as to how to act, how to approach, how to get acquainted – the perfect introvert for you. But you hardly need any conversational skills when children are in question – they make talking so easy, such a fun activity. Discussing their favourite fairytale is enough to excite them and lend a few stars from their twinkling eyes. Start humming their favourite song, and their giggles will echo in the emptiness of your heart. Buy them an ice-cream or coloring book, and their joy will know no bounds. The complexity of life that has us slamming our heads is nowhere to be found near children. They make everything simple, and oh the beauty in simplicity, life can never seem better.
Quoting Carolyn Haywood, the famous writer and illustrator of children’s books, “Children are not only innocent and curious but also optimistic and joyful and essentially happy. They are, in short, everything adults wish they could be.”
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