If we want to understand true happiness, we need only to detect young children. They don’t chase happiness; they simply embody it. They can find joy in the most common feature of nature.
When we go to the playground with Mira after her preschool, we must go through a vast park to get there. She doesn’t want to rush through the park; she enjoys nature’s beauty. When she notices a beautiful pineal under the trees, we need to turn back to pick it up, gaze at it and take it home to give it to Daddy.
Or she constantly feeds the magpies offering her pancakes to them. She can be so thrilled when a group of magpies surrounds us, impatiently waiting for her delicious pancakes. She immerses herself in the investigation of these little birds’ behaviour.
She is fascinated by dirt, wallows, or a squirrel hurryingly climbing on an old tree. They can keep her busy for a long time.
She taught me to slow down. Before her birth, I didn’t spend so much time in nature. I just rushed through the parks, submerging in my thoughts and thinking about what to do. But she taught me to stop for a while and notice the beauty of nature.
Little kids can enjoy the state of delight almost immediately. If they get caught in the rain, they are captivated by the sensation of soaking. They accept life without feeling sorry when things don’t happen according to ‘the plan.’
Between their birth and the age of four or five, little children can catch the experience of pure heaven. Most people are not capable of encountering happiness in this way after this age. That’s why we can say that our young children are our most outstanding teachers. They can lead us back to what we lost.