“When you are born into a world where you don’t fit in, it’s because you were born to help create a new one.” ~ Unknown
One day, years ago, while walking down the street, I suddenly had an insight that was as clear and bright as the vast blue sky above me: Children are here to help us birth a new world.
This thought made me feel incredibly excited! It encapsulated so much of what I had been teaching up to that point, and at the same time, it took all my understanding to a whole new level by making me realize more clearly the critical role children have in advancing the evolution of humanity.
Children are not here to create the same things we have created.
“Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.” ~ Rabindranath Tagore
Firstly, it is important to understand that increasingly the children being born into the world have an operating system that does not reflect contemporary thought. Their thought processes, awareness and perception are more advanced than our own, and they have the power and desire to elevate and transform our existing relationship and organizational models. In fact, it is their purpose to do so—to upgrade humanity’s operating system at a time when it is needed most by bringing in new tools, ideas, and innovative practices.
We can see this increasingly in the number of young people creating eco-solutions. From 13 year old Rachel Brouwer’s water-cleaning system, to 13 year-old Maxwell Loughan’s energy-harvesting device, these geniuses are lighting up the world. They are showing a new way.
The question is: Are we listening to them? Are we paying attention? Are we availing ourselves to what they have to offer?
Each child is born with a unique imprint.
This imprint is the unique make-up of the child’s gifts, talents and evolutionary needs. It points towards their life direction and the means in which they can serve our planet, and fulfill their reason for being here. When children express their gifts and talents, they align with their evolutionary needs, and help humanity do the same.
On a core level children feel this imprint, and know why they are here. They know what they need, if only we allow them to show us. But we are struggling to open to, and align our systems with, their deeper sense of Self and purpose—to their unique imprint. We continue to impose our ideas on how they ought to live their life, and have systems that perpetuate industrial relationship models that in no way nurture the child’s unique imprint. In doing so, we not only perpetuate a system of discounting the creative potential of children, but we set ourselves up to stay locked in unfulfilling and unhealthy patterns of behaviour for generations to come.
Increasingly, children will struggle to fit into our social systems.
If a child is acting disruptive within a social system, such as school, don’t be too quick to assume there is something wrong with the child. She simply may be doing her best to say that the system is not large enough to house the fullness of her creative spirit.
Children will continue to show symptoms of unrest and struggle at an increasing rate. While it may be tempting to diagnose these behaviours as some sort of disorder, we must take personal responsibility for what is happening. These behaviours are symptoms of a creative spirit that is stronger than ever, and that is desperately fighting for its voice in systems that do not hear or honour it. It is therefore natural, and it should be expected, that there is resistance. Any attempt to put the unbounded nature of the creative spirit into an old, outdated and limited model will create upset and dissent.
Instead of changing children, forcing them into our increasingly outdated systems, or worse yet, punishing them when they show resistance, we are all now being asked to adapt, or change our systems (including our systems of thought) to meet children in their reality and encourage them to shine. By doing so, we will work with their operating system, their imprint, and let them show us the way.
It begins with seeing children as powerful, capable and wise.
“The moment I decided to follow instead of lead, I discovered the joys of becoming part of a small child’s world.” ~ Janet Gonzalez-Mena
In shifting our perspective to see children in this way, it is easier, and more natural, to allow children to lead. We trust them more, stand back a bit, and engage them through such skills as observation, listening and curiosity. We learn to learn from them. And we better trust the little voice inside that has been telling us all these years, “Let them lead. Let them show you the way! You don’t have to control as much as you think!”
In doing so, we help them create a runway that is large enough for their soul to take off from. That really is our purpose when it comes to children—to help them soar to their fullest potential so that they may lead us to a new world.
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Check out Vince’s book: Let the Fire Burn ~ Nurturing the Creative Spirit of Children, A Children’s Book for Adults
