miércoles, marzo 10, 2010

I don't wanna grow up

In some of my classes we are reading the book The Little Prince in Spanish. It is one of my most favorite books, and even though my students are struggling to grasp the deeper lessons of the story, I find it very powerful to see them think critically about the language and the words that they are reading as they search for the deeper meaning behind the words. If you haven't read The Little Prince, you need to. In my opinion, if you are going to read a non-Christian book about life, this is the one to read. In the first couple of chapters of the book, the main lesson is that people perceive things differently. With a focus on grown-ups versus children, the author points out the differences of interpretations of a drawing. Children can understand things and see things that aren't explicit or obvious, while grown-ups need long explanations because they just don't get it. Children can find joy in the simple things, and grown-ups need numbers, names, and facts to attribute value to something. When talking about their friends, children focus on things like their laugh, their smile, and the way that they make you feel. Grown-ups focus on things like their age, socio-economic status and education. In my current day-to-day life I am finding myself surrounded by more and more "grown-ups" and fewer and fewer "children". I find myself surrounded by people concerned with appearances based on superficial numbers that supposedly give value to work and to life. Jesus said, "unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven". I think that God is using my current study of The Little Prince to teach me a lesson. I am struggling. I am trying to hold on to what I know to be true, everyday is a battle against people telling me that it isn't real and that there are things that are more important.
Well, people, you're wrong. It's not a hat, and it's not about the box - it's what's inside the box.

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