Lessons from an 8 year old

One of my favourite books of ALTIME is called "Winning with People" by John Maxwell.

He writes on the pretence of understanding that;

"Our ability to build and maintain human relationships is the single most important factor in how we get along--in every area of our life."

I absolutely & unbelievably cant recommend this book enough; it is filled with so many incredible challenges and life lessons about how we interact with the people in our world. My favourite chapter is titled "The learning principle: Each person we meet has the potential to teach us something" and accompanies one of my favourite quotes "Your life changes when you realise you can learn something from everyone"

Tonight I was babysitting two of my gorgeous little cousins Callum & Tara. Callum said "I wish I had a genie so I could get 3 wishes". Interested to hear what was on his mind that he would wish for; I dared to ask. Expecting somewhat of a typical child's response "I want an xbox, a scooter, a guitar, a ferrari, an island, etc etc". So you can imagine my surprise when instead, I heard this (followed quickly by tara, eager to share her wishes);

Callum, 8

1. World peace and that all the poor people would have enough food and money
2. That climate change would stop and the world would last forever
3. For a hundred dollars, no wait, a thousand, no a MILLION dollars, so that my family can go on holidays together cause that's what Mum loves to do

Tara, 6

1. That all the poor people would get money (can you tell she adores her brother and loves to walk in his footsteps?)
2. That I would be 8 forever, or maybe 12!
3. (She then got distracted and never got to a third...)

I was totally blown away! An 8 year old who wishes for world peace, others, the environment & their family??? Matched with the innocence of the beautiful Tara who thinks she'll have reached lifetime happiness at age 8 (or if not, at least by 12!). I don't know many adults who would wish for such things; is it because we think extravagant well-meaning wishes like these sound silly and impossible? I often think children are blessed having not yet experiencing how difficult such things can be. Or is it because we live in a world which ultimately tells us to look out for ourselves first and foremost; that achieving that next materialistic level of "happiness" for ourselves is what we are ultimately responsible for?

Not only were these wishes a true reflection of their family; their parents are some of the most incredible people I know. But it's another reminder of just how much we tend to discredit the wisdom and lessons we can learn from children.

I spent years working in childcare, and much like Sandra Bullock's character in "the blind side" that i talked about in a previous blog, I quickly learnt "its not just me changing their life but them changing mine".

"Your life changes when you realise you can learn something from everyone"

And tonight, mine was changed by the three wishes of an 8 year old.