The will of a child is the will of the wind
Alone with a new grandson
Little Ben and I have a staring contest. he will win. No one in the world can survive the gaze of a two-month-old baby. I wonder, for the tenth time, what is going through his head. Is he thinking about something?
Lines from a poem by Henry Wadsworth come to mind by chance.
“The will of a child is the will of the wind and the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.”
Most of us adults assume that a tiny baby’s thoughts are pretty much focused on things of survival.
“Can someone please feed me or change my diaper or pick me up?” But maybe we are the ones who are shortsighted.
In many ways, we are all mysteries to each other. Could it be that this little one is already measuring us?
“Hmm! This face looks different from Mom’s. Her voice is deeper too. What the hell, she’s making funny faces at me. Now that’s great.”
“He’s holding me a little awkward. It looks like he hasn’t held a baby in a while. But he’s smiling a lot. He seems to enjoy being with me.”
“I wonder a lot of things. Like, how did someone get me out of that sweet, warm place where I used to be? Well, it was getting a little tight in there and I have to admit, I was getting restless.”
Now that I’m in this new world, I have to figure out where I go from here. What did that old man say?” “The will of a child is the will of the wind and the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.” I have to think about that. I’m not sure what it means, but then again, I’m not a young man yet.
Maybe long thoughts are like dreams. You know what I mean? As if they had no borders, no limits. He realizes that long thoughts would be natural for children. Children’s minds are wide open to possibilities. Yes, I want to have those long thoughts, ideas and visions that pierce the sky.
Oh! Oh! That old man is challenging me to another staring contest. Well, I’m in no rush to grow up anyway. There are a lot of kind people around me, taking care of me. I guess I’ll wait a while before I start thinking those long, long thoughts.