Since it's going to be one week since Ride With Me last Wednesday (26/8/09), I shall post about what I've learnt in greater detail. This is not some reflection or anything (I think I said that last week too!), its just my musings and I hope it'll inspire others to do the same.
Children start out innocent. As they grow older, they they conform to the world's evil and deceitful ways- vulgarities, jealousy, hatred and so on. So I've always liked little kids. However, from past experiences, I've found that some little kids were already adapting quickly to the world. I've heard young kids spew vulgarities from their mouths and punch or kick others when they're unhappy. Of course, every child has his or her own temper tantrums. But I wonder, if some kids can control theirs and simply cry or sulk instead of venting their anger physically, why can't all children do the same? I guess its related to upbringing and whether the parents allow their child to 'abuse' their anger. The child starts out as a blank sheet of canvas, and the world, plus the parents, are the ones that create the picture on that canvas.
Last Wednesday, when I went for the CIP with the children from the Cerebral Palsy Centre, I was honestly expecting kids who threw tantrums all day long and screamed constantly. I expected them to be deformed. I expected them to be different from average kids. Then, at the end of the day, I realised that perhaps, these kids had more blissful lives then any of us ever had. You see, these kids, they had different types of disorders. Global Developmental Delay, Autism Spectrum Delay, Developmental Language Delay, and even Cerebral Palsy. Imagine a child who is six years of age, but has the knowledge of a child that is three years of age. A normal child at six would be able to speak rather coherently, in fluid sentences. But these kids that I met, the four year olds, they hardly spoke more than 3 sentences at one go. How would they break the communication barrier between other kids, who would probably shun them because they are perceived as shy and unsociable?
At the start of the day, I was prepared to speak slowly and in short sentences, thinking that they would not understand me fully. And yet, I realised only later that these kids actually knew more then they let on. The world shuns them. Society thinks they can't speak properly, so they won't make good friends. Yet, shouldn't we look at their hearts instead of their disabilities? If only others dug deeper, they would have found that these kids were intelligent. Of course, we can't expect them to speak or think like someone their own age, but they have their own thoughts too. Perhaps it's just that they can't express themselves.
Looking at other aspects, I somehow feel that these children are more innocent compared to average kids without disabilities. They are less likely to turn to vulgarities or other forms of 'evils' of the world, simply because they're contented with what they have. Growing up with their peers shunning them, they probably characterized the average child as bad, as someone they wouldn't want to mix with. And when they see that normal kids shout obscenities, fight or argue, they may tend to shift away from that behaviour, thus skipping the phase of fighting, screaming, etc.
Volunteering that day actually made a difference in my life. That day, I found out that these kids, who the world views as less intelligent, less capable and less sociable, are actually much more happy than 'normal' children. They think simply, speak simply and therefore live simply, without a need for more toys, more affection, or more materialistic things that we crave for practically everyday. That day, I witnessed many interesting events which proved that yes, the children indeed thought differently. But yet, I also realised that when they think differently, they may actually be thinking for the better. One example: James was simply satisfied with crushing origami papers. Ordinary kids, after trying but failing to fold paper cranes out of the coloured paper, would simply toss it aside and look for other things to play with. However, James was content with holding those pieces of coloured paper, crushing them, unfolding them, saying their colours and shapes. And it wasn't just James. Dawn, a girl aged four, was also sitting patiently trying to fold origami while waiting for the rain to stop. Of course, Javier was hyper active, but he still managed to just sit patiently with his water bottle for quite awhile.
Kids without disabilities would always beg their parents for toys and sweets, etc etc. Yet, that day, Javier demanded that he wanted the purple helmet, and only the purple helmet. When we tried giving him the black one, he screamed. At that point, I was wondering if he was spoilt and demanding, but then later I realise that what mattered most to him then was just the helmet. He didn't care about sweets, chocolates, toys or anything else. I was always wondering why none of the kids were pestering us for the ice cream and soft drinks that were placed in the coolers just right before their eyes. And yet, when you go out, you see little kids screaming for this sweet, that drink, etc.
I learnt that simplicity is bliss. These kids, despite their language disorders, were actually more thoughtful then normal kids. They taught me that one could just live with simple things and that there was no point being greedy when you had all the love and affection you needed. They taught me that there was no point in worrying about anything because everyone had the same number of hours each day, and why worry when one could spend it laughing, or simply sitting there and enjoying the remaining beauty of the world? Seeing the children smiling and relaxing for that few hours really lit up my heart and gave it warmth. It was like there was a candle in my heart and the children were the lighters.
Sometimes I wish that I could share their child-like innocence, not caring about what others thought of me, but simply keeping my thoughts inside my head and enjoying what the world has to offer. I wouldn't have to speak, all I would need to do is to just observe the world- the beautiful and ugly side of it. Yet, only the joy of the world would register in my mind, giving me great joy and bliss. I would see all the worries of the world, yet it wouldn't bother me; simply because I am content and greatly satisfied with the love and care I have. If love is enough to keep a child going, why shouldn't it be enough to keep us going too?
/ THE SPECIAL ONE.
KELLY.
proud to be a CHRISTIAN
YSHPSAHSTJC
Y1F07; 2D08; 3D09;4D10!RojakClass
Ynetball. CP/art.INFOCOMM!
LOVES.
YHILLSONG | PLANETSHAKERS | THE WANTED | DAVID ARCHULETA | SAM TSUI | DANNY GOKEY | THE FRAY | DAUGHTRY | CHRIS TOMLIN
YTIMO BOLL | DIMITRIJ OVTCHAROV | LIN DAN | LEWIS HAMILTON | BOONSAK PONSANA | PETER GADE
Y24 | THE CLOSER | THE LISTENER | HEROES | THE MENTALIST | WLIIA | FRINGE | BIG BANG THEORY | COVERT AFFAIRS | QI
YHISTORY | BIOLOGY.
WANTS.
to glorify GOD.
to save as many people as possible (:
to draw closer to Jesus!
you and your family to be saved.
good grades
to learn Spanish & German
to travel USA & EUROPE. a blessed J2 year :) L1R5 6 - close enough. an awesome J1 year! a rocking Sec 4 year! a rocking sec 3 year! to get to the Final Assessment of NWSP 09! TOP 10 FOR NEMATION IV! :D
theMATERIALISTICS.
Matthew Reilly's books
TW's deluxe albums
Henderson's Boys
a wide angle (14mm?) or zoom lens
Danny Gokey's album :D BOND: Hurricane Gold CHERUB: Shadow Wave Call of Duty: World at War a domokun tix for AVIVA Open Singapore! :D tix for LN SG OPEN! David A's album! Breadou :DROCKBAND 3 Set! David A's 2nd album DSLR POF- Necropolis
Since it's going to be one week since Ride With Me last Wednesday (26/8/09), I shall post about what I've learnt in greater detail. This is not some reflection or anything (I think I said that last week too!), its just my musings and I hope it'll inspire others to do the same.
Children start out innocent. As they grow older, they they conform to the world's evil and deceitful ways- vulgarities, jealousy, hatred and so on. So I've always liked little kids. However, from past experiences, I've found that some little kids were already adapting quickly to the world. I've heard young kids spew vulgarities from their mouths and punch or kick others when they're unhappy. Of course, every child has his or her own temper tantrums. But I wonder, if some kids can control theirs and simply cry or sulk instead of venting their anger physically, why can't all children do the same? I guess its related to upbringing and whether the parents allow their child to 'abuse' their anger. The child starts out as a blank sheet of canvas, and the world, plus the parents, are the ones that create the picture on that canvas.
Last Wednesday, when I went for the CIP with the children from the Cerebral Palsy Centre, I was honestly expecting kids who threw tantrums all day long and screamed constantly. I expected them to be deformed. I expected them to be different from average kids. Then, at the end of the day, I realised that perhaps, these kids had more blissful lives then any of us ever had. You see, these kids, they had different types of disorders. Global Developmental Delay, Autism Spectrum Delay, Developmental Language Delay, and even Cerebral Palsy. Imagine a child who is six years of age, but has the knowledge of a child that is three years of age. A normal child at six would be able to speak rather coherently, in fluid sentences. But these kids that I met, the four year olds, they hardly spoke more than 3 sentences at one go. How would they break the communication barrier between other kids, who would probably shun them because they are perceived as shy and unsociable?
At the start of the day, I was prepared to speak slowly and in short sentences, thinking that they would not understand me fully. And yet, I realised only later that these kids actually knew more then they let on. The world shuns them. Society thinks they can't speak properly, so they won't make good friends. Yet, shouldn't we look at their hearts instead of their disabilities? If only others dug deeper, they would have found that these kids were intelligent. Of course, we can't expect them to speak or think like someone their own age, but they have their own thoughts too. Perhaps it's just that they can't express themselves.
Looking at other aspects, I somehow feel that these children are more innocent compared to average kids without disabilities. They are less likely to turn to vulgarities or other forms of 'evils' of the world, simply because they're contented with what they have. Growing up with their peers shunning them, they probably characterized the average child as bad, as someone they wouldn't want to mix with. And when they see that normal kids shout obscenities, fight or argue, they may tend to shift away from that behaviour, thus skipping the phase of fighting, screaming, etc.
Volunteering that day actually made a difference in my life. That day, I found out that these kids, who the world views as less intelligent, less capable and less sociable, are actually much more happy than 'normal' children. They think simply, speak simply and therefore live simply, without a need for more toys, more affection, or more materialistic things that we crave for practically everyday. That day, I witnessed many interesting events which proved that yes, the children indeed thought differently. But yet, I also realised that when they think differently, they may actually be thinking for the better. One example: James was simply satisfied with crushing origami papers. Ordinary kids, after trying but failing to fold paper cranes out of the coloured paper, would simply toss it aside and look for other things to play with. However, James was content with holding those pieces of coloured paper, crushing them, unfolding them, saying their colours and shapes. And it wasn't just James. Dawn, a girl aged four, was also sitting patiently trying to fold origami while waiting for the rain to stop. Of course, Javier was hyper active, but he still managed to just sit patiently with his water bottle for quite awhile.
Kids without disabilities would always beg their parents for toys and sweets, etc etc. Yet, that day, Javier demanded that he wanted the purple helmet, and only the purple helmet. When we tried giving him the black one, he screamed. At that point, I was wondering if he was spoilt and demanding, but then later I realise that what mattered most to him then was just the helmet. He didn't care about sweets, chocolates, toys or anything else. I was always wondering why none of the kids were pestering us for the ice cream and soft drinks that were placed in the coolers just right before their eyes. And yet, when you go out, you see little kids screaming for this sweet, that drink, etc.
I learnt that simplicity is bliss. These kids, despite their language disorders, were actually more thoughtful then normal kids. They taught me that one could just live with simple things and that there was no point being greedy when you had all the love and affection you needed. They taught me that there was no point in worrying about anything because everyone had the same number of hours each day, and why worry when one could spend it laughing, or simply sitting there and enjoying the remaining beauty of the world? Seeing the children smiling and relaxing for that few hours really lit up my heart and gave it warmth. It was like there was a candle in my heart and the children were the lighters.
Sometimes I wish that I could share their child-like innocence, not caring about what others thought of me, but simply keeping my thoughts inside my head and enjoying what the world has to offer. I wouldn't have to speak, all I would need to do is to just observe the world- the beautiful and ugly side of it. Yet, only the joy of the world would register in my mind, giving me great joy and bliss. I would see all the worries of the world, yet it wouldn't bother me; simply because I am content and greatly satisfied with the love and care I have. If love is enough to keep a child going, why shouldn't it be enough to keep us going too?
