Childhood is often perceived to be a time from birth to a certain age. However, it is simply not what it is perceived to be. Childhood is an empire, a state of mind, a wild garden where everything is a burst of celebration.
When a child grows up, he/she is expected to put away childish things. However, it is these very things, this childlike essence that children must carry with them as they step into the world of the grownups.
Children seldom think of the future and this innocence, this living in the present leaves them free to enjoy the tiny miracles of life. They are able to take pleasure in small things, even when greater things around them don't seem to be in the best shape. They inherently know that although they cannot control the world around them, cannot walk away from things or people or moments that threaten to hurt, they can always find magic if they go looking for it.
My nephew, like every other child this past year, has been stuck at home. His childlike innocence, however, has helped him find joy in the littlest thing, even as Covid reigns devastation around him. While speaking to me he excitedly told me about a kite that had miraculously found its way to his bedside table. Due to the restrictions imposed by Covid, no one had braved going out to buy a kite for him. However, a kite, unable to fly as it was cut from the blue sky, lightly floated into the branches of a tree next to the veranda. My father patched up the kite, the best he could and left it for my nephew as a surprise when he woke up. Naturally, he was delighted as he told me of the colourful kite and his plans for the evening. Not caring that the kite was mended with tape, he could not wait for the sun to go down so that he could take the kite to the terrace for a jaunt with the sky.
Imagination, they say is the highest kite that one can fly. If we are able to find joy in little things, our childhood, just like the kite, will find a way to enthral us once again.