"Who among us can ever forget that very first time we saw the seaside as a child and looked out in wonder across the vast horizon? Isn't it simply marvellous how a child not yet attending school, possesses the imagination to project their thoughts into the future in the most positive of ways, thinking about the things they may one day do and the places they hope to see, when we clever adults who think we know so much about the world cannot see beyond our nose ends nor dream beyond our everyday experiences. We are unfortunately educated beyond our understanding and generally become adults who know so little about so much.
There is so much we can learn from our young. We can learn about the value of having a close friend to whom we can talk to whenever worried.We can learn from their innate instinct to trust the people they love, their innocence of truthful expression, their refusal to distinguish the worth of one person to that of another based on differences between the two and their instinctive gut reaction to know what is just and unjust. We would do well to observe their imagination of all things being possible and most important of all, marvel at their ability to jump in puddles for no other reason that there is a puddle in front of them waiting to be jumped in! Children wait not for life's events to come along and take them down this road or that; they chose the path their heart dictates during their magic of the moment, and more often than not they find pleasure and contentment along the way.
It behoves all adults, therefore, to preserve the purity of the child if we are to remain close to all that is good and wholesome. The ultimate measure of any worthwhile society is how it treats, respects and protects its young.
The next time we look out to sea, view with the eyes of a child, not an adult and see the magic beyond the fringe of the sea. See instead the giant caterpillars eating ice-cream cornets, lollipop trees in woods of wobbly jelly waiting to be licked and wizards with noses as long as a cricket bat." William Forde: November 15th, 2017