Where did all our innocence go? When did it disappear, only to be replaced by so-called knowledge?
As I see Keshav grow in front of my eyes, I can only but fear the day when he loses his innocence…actually, this would be a process, and not a sudden change, but I can see it happening little by little now. And as he grows older, the process will accelerate.
The wonders that he sees now – his unicorns, dinosaurs, talking cats and dogs, Krishna and Radha, Sita Kalyanam…all will slowly fade away, as ‘knowledge’ dawns.
No more will he be fascinated by these, no more blind belief – he will start seeing the world in the same dreary way that we adults do – a more Japandi blandness rather than splashes of color, no more splashing around in the rain, and dancing on sofas for every single beat…no more crying out loud for the simplest of reasons – more about exercising restraint and speaking through filters of the mind.
Life would become more of a list of tasks and appointments, rather than discovery and amazement. Responsibilities will creep in, and that bordering-on-the-unbelievable confidence and positivity of a child will be replaced by practicality and reality-checks.
Is there really any way to slow this down, and help retain that childlike quality somewhere, that quality that we crave for every once in a while – just letting go of filters and conformity – and speaking our minds, doing what we feel at the spur of an instant?
Or will it be considered an act of immaturity and fickleness of behavior?
I guess the answers are different, based on which side of the fence you are at the moment. Keshav, if he can understand the complexity of these questions, will surely give a beautiful answer. We adults on the other hand, will give the right one.
Therein lies the difference. And therein lies the loss of our innocence.
See you tomorrow!