[caption id="attachment_202198" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Your children are not your children (Kahlil Gibran) ©Mamak Ketol™"][/caption]
I was walking on the beach one morning and saw this child. Alone. Not very far from Pura Pulaki. Her mother sells cold drinks by the road near the pura.
The sun shines and the wind is mild. Aren’t you afraid of the wave so wild? I asked. And she smiled. I think that was the most beautiful smile of a little Balinese girl that I have ever seen. My mind was occupied with children.
As walked by, I remember one quote from Shel Silverstein: “Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
Heeey, don’t you worry too much. Words from Rosaleen Dickson suddenly came to my mind “Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children, and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children.”
So, do we have to treat the children equally? Don’t you think at this wee hour they should go to school and do their homework? What if they are kidnapped or being raped?
“Well”, said Bill Crosby, “Sex education may be a good idea in the schools, but I don't believe the kids should be given homework.”
How about religion? Should we teach them as well? “Any system of religion that has anything in it that shocks the mind of a child, cannot be true”, said Thomas Paine.
I was told that all Balinese children should learn how to dance once they are able to stand up. What do you think Pablo Picaso? “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
What makes a great artist, Victor Hugo? “A great artist is a great man in a great child.”
Do children belong to their parents? Kahlil Gibran finally shouted: Of course not!