Lessons from my 14 month old

Watching the little one grow older, one day at a time, is teaching me profound lessons every day. We know all these things, but she puts them into actions....and leaves me wondering why don't I do that too :)....

Here are some of my recent lessons:

Oh Dear you must not fear
She walks and she walks fast. But toddlers don't stop there. They want to run. She is learning to run up and down the slope on the driveway. She falls zillions of times on the hard concrete, but not once have I seen her fear or give up. It's a very small thing she is trying to accomplish in our perspective, but for her its huge. WE know she will be okay if she falls, but she does not.

Never ever give up
The above example can fall into this category. How kids learn to walk, talk, eat - each of these are great examples of showing us how to never quit. Here is a recent example from our household. We have a cordless phone in our family room, placed on the middle shelf of the small TV entertainment unit. During the past few days, the baby has learnt how to bend down and reach for it, take it off its base, and then press the "locate" button on the base which makes the phone ring. This whole process requires a lot of effort and co-ordination from her end. She learnt it slowly, one step at a time, and I am amazed at how well she executes it now. She had lots of setbacks during the process, but she persisted and has now mastered it.

Be happy for no reason
Kids are best at this. Placing a small towel soaked in hot water on her face had her giggling non-stop today. She was so happy chasing a plastic red ball that our neighbor gave her to play today evening. She was running up and down the street, onto the road and back to the sidewalk, stepping on the lawn....simply enjoying herself. We don't need much to be happy....take pleasure in the small joys of life. Go watch a sunset, or walk bare feet on grass. Go out for a long drive alone. Curl up and read a good book. Drink coffee. Eat ice cream. Be happy!

Dance like no one's watching
This baby loves music, and LOVES to dance. Every morning, while feeding her breakfast, I have her Talking Elmo out on the high chair, and she starts moving with the rhythm. I have to find a way to feed her in between all this dancing & moving :). She'll dance at pretty much any tune that is playing in the house. And the happiness on her face while doing so says it all. We often spot her dancing and pretend as if we are not watching her, and simply enjoy the experience!

Demand with all your might what you desire
I do have a demanding one on my hands. Even at such a young age, she has preferences for everything :). That which she desires, she sure knows how to demand with all her might. There is an important lesson for all of us in this. We should not settle for less, or compromise ourselves, just because. I am not talking about materialistic desires here, but more about our dreams and aspirations. Persistence is the key to success.

Keep an open mind
While observing my kiddo play with her toys or learn to do new things, I realize how conditioned our adult minds have become. We often fail to think outside the box. Kids don't know the outcome of most things and so their approach is very different from us. For example, my daughter knows how to climb onto stuff, but does not know how to get down. She is learning, and has tried about 10 different ways of getting down...the best of which is just letting go, falling back, smiling and saying "bhum" (which means oops I fell down in Gujju). From trial and error, she now knows to get on her tummy and slide down. From time to time, we, as adults, should also put our reasoning and logical thinking to the side, and think differently. We even have a class to encourage "out of the box thinking" at work. We need to practice it more often!

Express your emotions freely
I get gazillion hugs and kisses from my daughter everyday. Even if I scold her or ignore her (which happens rarely), she comes and kisses me. I have recently taught her how to express "I love you" or simply "Love you"....when I tell her to do it, she puts her hand on her heart for 'love', and then puts her hand on me (or her daddy) for 'you'. Cute, eh? She expresses her love and joy (& disappointment as well) so freely. And gets over it sooper quick as well. We all should be able to do it this way.

Keep life simple
The baby derives equal pleasure from playing with an expensive toy or rolling in the grass. Her needs are simple - milk, food, clean diaper and clothes, bath, hugs & kisses & warmth, plenty of sleep. As adults, we don't need much more than that. We over complicate our life with stuff we don't need. Minimalism is the way to go. I should go clean up all the junk in my house now - Practice before I preach! But really, we should keep life as simple as it can be.

Live in the moment
This is one of the most important things that I get reminded of every single day when I look at my daughter. She does not worry about the past, or the future. She makes a mess, and does not worry about who will clean it. She cried couple times today when I scolded her - first time when she was not eating her breakfast, and second time when she was not going down for her nap even after trying for more than an hour, but at the very first distraction, she was smiling and back to her happy self. She lives in the moment; she lives in the present. If we all consciously choose to live like this, we can be a lot more happier than we are. I have been practicing it and reminding myself daily about this. It has helped me maintain a positive attitude towards life, and live with very little worry or stress about past/future stuff.

Happy Friday! And Happy Weekend!