I’m not so sure about the “innocence” part. It doesn’t take a very long acquaintance with the child to notice some not-so-innocent aspects.
But the “freshness” brings some other things to mind:
Their stories are adventure stories:
- as though no one had ever walked before
- as though no one had ever climbed the slide before
- as though no one had ever explored this trail in the woods before
- as though no one had ever known a dandelion before
- and when a bit older, as though no one had ever been tongue tied trying to talk to someone fascinating, who you know would end your world if she laughed at you
Yet it isn’t entirely a matter of a new adventure story. The infant seems more completely present. It isn’t dandelions, it’s this instance of dandelion or of the woods, and nothing else matters right now.
An adult sees this dandelion but remembers thousands of others—picked, blown, left alone—as well as the people they were shared with and the days they lived in. The adult’s dandelion is less of a pure dandelion and more of a tapestry.
That’s not a terrible loss; if anything it’s an increase in beauty. But sharing time with children lets us have it both ways for a while.
2 comments:
This is one of Chesterton's great insights about the divine consciousness as it differs from our own. The children are closer to it, he argues:
“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”
A wonderful quote.
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