Wise Little Girl (reflection)
I know a wise little girl who cannot walk.She is confined to a wheelchair, and she mayspend the rest of her life there, since her doctorshold out almost no hope of ever making herparalyzed legs better. When I first met this littlegirl, she flashed me a smile that burned me withits blazing happiness. How open she was! Shewasn't hiding out from self-pity or asking forapproval or protecting herself from a sense ofshame. She felt completely innocent about notbeing able to walk, like a puppy that has no ideaif it is a mongrel or a champion of the breed. Shemade no judgments about herself.That was her wisdom.
I have seen the same wise look in other children,"poor" children as society sees them, because theylack food, money, secure homes, or healthy bodies.By the time they reach a certain age, many of thesechildren grasp just how bad their situation is. Theway that adults look at their lives robs them of thatfirst innocence that is so precious and rare. Theybegin to believe that they should feel bad aboutthemselves; that this is "right."
But this wise little girl, being only four, floatedabove pity and shame like a carefree sparrow.She took my heart in her hands and made it asweightless as a cotton puff, so that it was impossiblefor me to even begin to think, "What a terrible thing."All I saw was light and love. In their innocence, veryyoung children know themselves to be light and love.If we will allow them, they can teach us to seeourselves the same way.
One sparkle from a little girl's gaze contains the sameknowledge that Nature implants at the heart of everylife-form. It is life's silent secret, not to be put intowords. It just knows. It knows peace and how notto hurt. It knows that even the least breath is agesture of gratitude to the Creator. It smiles tobe alive, waiting patiently for ages of ignoranceand sorrow to pass away like a mirage.
I see this knowledge showing itself in the eyes ofchildren more and more, which makes me thinkthat their innocence is growing stronger. They aregoing to disarm us adults, and that will be enoughto disarm the world. They feel no reason to spoilthe environment, and so the environment will becleaned up without a quarrel. A wise little girl toldme the future when she looked at me, so full ofpeace and contentment. I rejoice in trusting herabove all the experts. As light and love drive awayour guilt and shame, her prophecy must come true.