Sunday, May 6, 2012

How does a plant say thank you?!

"Education is not just to pass examinations, take a degree and a job, get married and settle down, but also to be able to listen to the birds, to see the sky, to see the extraordinary beauty of a tree, and the shape of the hills, and to feel with them, to be really, directly in touch with them."- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Not a day goes by without my saying 'thank you' to God, for the decision on homeschooling that we took more than two years ago.......at that moment it was like jumping off a cliff blindfolded, albeit with complete faith in oneself, one's child and in the Supreme Power....and today it seems as natural as breathing......I can say that I am only now truly LIVING!

It is amazing how we have evolved as a family over these two years! Looking back at how we reacted to and handled life situations then and how we do it now, makes me laugh and cry at the same time.... It has been overwhelming for us most times as we take time now to stop and listen, look at and carefully watch everything that life has to offer us every day........and that has been because of Raghav being with us 24X7. We have grown and evolved and discovered new, vibrant parts of ourselves along with and through him. And I am thankful for that everyday - for only when we think we know everything, do we stop learning and growing....

And this is the little anecdote that I would like to share here that made my day! It is for little things like these that we as parents live for isn't it?.....

We have a little garden at home and I am the one who takes care of it mostly......except for little observations of them by Raghav - like a new leaf that has sprouted, a dried up one, fallen ones, and so on.....but today, as I was watering the plants one by one, Raghav peeped from behind and asked me :"Amma, how do you think the plants say 'thank you' to you for watering them?" While I was still thinking about how to answer that, he already had his answer - "I think they say thank you when they grow new leaves or flowers!" How beautiful our earth would be if we could all be more mindful of our actions and the reactions to them!

I don't think I had been so mindful about watering plants before! But ever since then, I have been and have found a few ubiquitous moments of peace and joy.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Is it all in the genes?!

We were reading a library book on Genetically Modified Foods and I must say that it was an eye opener for me too (I recommend it for all kids as it has some great visuals and is explained so simply and clearly).

As soon as I read the definition of genetic modification out to him, Raghav promptly said : "But that is a very wrong thing to do isn't it? Why do they interfere with nature? They should just let things be!....and what if they want to take out the gene five minutes later after they put it in there? what will they do, because they cannot take it back out?!" What the book describes in so many words and pictures over so many pages, had been understood by him in that instant! A quiet sense of pride and gratitude filled my inner space...I was filled with a myriad of emotions and thoughts....what were we leaving behind for our children in the name of progress and development and globalization?...why are we killing ourselves?......why do we misuse the power of knowledge that the creator has bestowed upon us?.......and here they are - the children of tomorrow - with a crystal clear understanding of their world and what needs to be done! What are we waiting for?!...I smiled at him and said "Yes! Perhaps they should let things be....but they don't."

And while we were reading and discussing what genes were and how they get passed on and so on he said: "Oh! Genes are like my LEGO building instructions - they tell you how to grow or how you are made!.....but I don't have appa's genes for oily skin and a long nose!....and amma, how come you did not pass on this gene to me - you don't do 'galatta' ( something like a tantrum!), but I do!" And then he went on and on about different features and finally seemed to have concluded - "I think only things like the way people look are passed on through the genes; I don't think things like how we behave and feel are passed on through the genes!" - Wow! What a finding! And coming to think of it, we had barely read two pages of the book!