BY BILL GERLACH | JOIN ME ON TWITTER

“I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, – light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful.” — John Constable

A few weeks back, I was having a conversation with my five-year-old daughter that just knocked the wind out of me. It was one of those moments as a parent that humbles you to the core and makes you realize how much our children have an amazing innate capacity to grasp the simple truths of life. It went like this:

[DAUGHTER, turning to show off a new dress her mom had made for her] “Daddy, I don’t look beautiful in this dress.”

[ME] “Sweetie, a dress doesn’t make you beautiful or not. Beauty is something that is on the inside, not the outside. Do you know what that means?”

[DAUGHTER] “When your heart is beautiful.”

[ME, beaming from ear to ear] “Exactly.”

Society has been pushing the Superficial on us for a long time. Cultural norms help dictate this, the Engine of Unchecked Consumerism keeps it humming along and peer pressure often puts the nail in the coffin.

I don’t think we start out our lives with such a predisposition. This is a product of nurture not nature.

What we are born with—I believe—is a natural desire to belong, to connect with other beings (human, animal or otherwise) and to share in the common experience of life. These innate desires have been systematically twisted over time though, molded and manipulated to the point where skin deep ‘beauty’ is now the norm.  Where community is defined by how much you own, what you wear, and who you (don’t) talk to. Where we have forsaken the immaterial things in life that let the human spirit soar in favor of the material things we (think we) must have in order to be part of the crowd.

It is only when we realize the error of pursuing such frivolity that we can begin to reconnect with and balance our lives.

This might be difficult for many adults, but with children there lies hope. We can leverage that unblemished slate and innate capacity to understand simple truths to set in motion a new wave of Being.

As parents, we hold the key to this. Changing the global perspective on life in all its forms starts right on our own doorstep. But we cannot just talk the talk – we must walk it too. That’s a great thing though. Taking a journey with others is always more memorable.

Need some inspiration? Check out this amazing post from Becoming Minimalist: 15 Things Children Can (and Should) Value More Than Possessions.

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Be well,
Bill

[Image: Robyn Hooz via flickr]