Be Like a Child
02 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in Ernest Hemingway, India 2010, Rishikesh
“The man who has learned to live more seriously within, begins to live more simply without.” – Ernest Hemingway
There are 400+ children at the Khushi School (Khushi Charitable Project), all brimming with happiness & playfulness. The school has been made possible from charitable contributions and is the foundation project of Sattva Yoga Center. School is not mandatory in this part of Rishikesh. There is no tuition at Khushi. The only requirement to attend this school is to show up – pure desire. To Western eyes, on the surface it appears these children do not have much, but in actuality, it is the very lack of things that makes these children so happy and content. They have all that they need because they are accustomed to having less.
The children involved in the after school programs presented us with a recital of singing and dancing, martial arts, traditional dance, and a priceless rendition of the children’s hand song “Are You Sleeping Brother John” that brought smiles from ear to ear. It wasn’t long before the children were taking us by the hands asking us to dance “Please madam, please madam . . “. Now, dancing is NOT my thing, but those sweet kids bridged all the barriers of age, culture and language, so how could I refuse? Before I knew it, I got my groove on – something I hadn’t done in years (sadly).
Somewhere between our own childhood and adulthood the pressure of responsibility sets in along with competitiveness, excessive desire and the need to fulfill someone else’s expectations of who we should be. No doubt we all would be hard pressed to pinpoint exactly where and when life stopped becoming joyful and more like a routine – the daily grind. It is part of the human condition for survival. Our freedom becomes buried in the closet of the mind. We know it is there, but have difficulty connecting with it. We begin to fruitlessly search for it in material things, forgetting that real freedom is, and always has been, in allowing the spirit to express itself completely and passionately.
We should never lose the wonder and irrepressible joy of the child. Sing and laugh out loud, dance and jump around, let the spirit be free. Doing so allows us to be fully present in the moment, experiencing the full spectrum of joy and bliss. Living with less; enjoying more.
For more information on the Khushi Charitable Project please visit www.khushi.org.in
