Becoming like a child... ?

[z00se]

There are many many references to becoming like a child in lots of spirituality literature. However now i have my own child I feel there are many changes that have occurred through my own spirituality practice that i feel are quiet the opposite of growing young, infact i feel as if it causes me to mature faster (whether or not that means age faster i don't know). Here are a few major points.

 

When i was a teenager or even a young kid and was looking at girls, i would always check out all the girls features and try to choose the very best looking one. Girls that didn't attract me i wasn't interested in, and certainly wouldn't want to kiss or anything along those lines! There would be very few that would actually reach my standards. As you get older more and more women seem to become more attractive and you get drawn to them for different reasons, and you appriciate different things about them. Standards may slightly drop too but this is not the only reason. It is a relaxing of your mind, allowing you to see beauty in all things.

 

The same is true for other men too. There were some kids at school who seemed strange, a bit dirty, or just unintelligent that i didn't really want to mix with, but later now i find myself enjoying things about them i never would have thought about when i was younger.

 

Another thing is with my body, when i was young i would have big muscles, and was super fit, and would never let myself become fat, yet now i feel comfortable becoming a bit overweight and not so pedantic about my fitness. The same relaxedness through spiritual advancement has sped this up considerably.

 

Most toddlers don't want to share their stuff they want to keep all the good stuff for themselves. They feel jealous of others taking the love of their parents, and choose all the best stuff to eat.

 

All these things that young kids do are to help them in a battle where it is survival of the fittest. It is the desire and drive to survive. Choosing the best mate, the best friends, and the best fitness. The definition of best changes somewhat when you become older but usually it changes in a way that makes survival less important.

 

When you look at old people it's as if they have given up battling for the best and make do. They feel happy with second best and i think as people become old and lose the fire inside, they also become more spiritually balanced as a natural result of becomming old. It is the same with spirituality, there is no need to strive because i'm already where i need to be.

 

I'm not talking about qigong which is not really spiritual in my opinion anyway, it is beyond spirituality and overshooting the mark for the sake of health, it is scientific. Energy work is yang and actually makes me feel younger and creates tension in my body and the desires and drives that i had when i was younger. If i become more yin and heavy it's easy to be in a state of bliss but i get that feeling of everything is fine just how it is.

 

Also I'm not talking about specific methods, like being aware, prayer, or any other spiritual method, i'm talking about the result of these methods, the enlightenment process, how your perceptions and decision making change as a result.

 

Won't you automatically become spiritual as you age? By purposely practicing these things does it mean that we age faster? I have certainly matured faster.

 

Anyone else's thoughts?

[Jetsun]

I don't think that saying it is meant so literally, children are narcissists so you don't want to be like them in all regards. I think it is more to do with dropping all your misconceptions and fixed ideas to look at what's really going on rather than looking at everything with a full mind, which is the same thing as what Buddhists call beginners mind. It's probably also to do with realising how little you really know and understand.

 

But the process of maturation you describe is also a somewhat spiritual process in my view, it is about an opening of the heart and gaining wisdom about what is important, but I don't think it is in contradiction to "becoming like a child"

 

 

Edited October 25, 2012 by Jetsun

[GrandmasterP]

I agree...

Not childish as such more child-like in the sense of retaining that sense of wonder and greeting each new day as the wonderful thing that it can be that children have.

[et-thoughts]

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Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[Jeff]

On "being like a child", a couple of thoughts... Think of going on a trip with your mother. When she was holding your hand, you never worried about where you were going. You knew (had faith) that she knew where she was going and never doubted. Also, remember the wonder that you felt exploring a new place (like a carnival or amusement park).

 

[zanshin]

It does depend what age, but I don't agree childlike is always wanting the best and survival of the fittest. Kids like quirky things and follow their nature. Like gift of a big fancy toy and preferring to play with the box.

[Gerard]

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Edited September 13, 2013 by Gerard

[GrandmasterP]

I can't stand the odious little ankle biters. wasn't it Larkin who defined Hell as ....

'Other peoples' children' ?

[Stosh]

To take the suggestion of acting like a child , which is a complicated thing

requires one to 'cherry-pick' through the traits they have

to find a direction

to the advice.

IF they say what it is they mean by it ,

then they dont need to make the child an analogy

...

( the subject of children is rendered a sales gimmic)

So its not realIy a helpful suggestion.

IMO

Stosh