The Smile of a Child

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 08 May 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Inana	08 May 2003
Yesterday I was traveling on the bus. I was feeling a bit down with lot of things in mind. So i tried to distract looking at the people around, just to notice that most of them were looking such "grey" like me: tired, absorved by rutine and with those vacuum eyes lost in any point. Then, there was a child of two years or so, sitting in his baby- carriage. He looked at me with his big eyes and instantly, showed a big smile. His round face was full of life and the smile was so true that i smiled to him feeling lots better. Was a great moment. Its amazing when childs you dont know do things like these. Then the world seems a much better place. They can change the course of your feelings that day only with a sincere smile. Well... sure it happened to you sometime too. But i wanted to share. Have you had other situations when a very simple thing like this had made change totally your mood?

Astraea	08 May 2003
Yes, Inana, the pure and sweet smile of a young child -- a smile masking no hidden agenda, asking for nothing but a smile in return -- is a gift beyond measure. I'm so glad that you and that child encountered one another today -- I'm sure that the smile you gave him changed his day for the better, too!

sagitarian	16 May 2003
yes I've experienced this too with a child. Then the mother noticed what I looked like (as I have my tongue pierced, was smiling, while sticking my tongue out at the child, not to mention, I have a different look in my wardrobe) the mother took one look at me, one look at her 3 yr old that was smiling sticking her tongue back out at me, grabbed her up in a very disturbed way and whisked her away. She looked at me from behind her mother's shoulder and stuck her tongue out at me one last time and i did the same to her, then waved bye to her. It was great! It made me smile for the rest of the day. Another time, it was raining here (which is a rarity where i live) and I was driving along. Came to a stop sign, and looked down at the ground, there on the wet black road, right before the gutter was a beautiful yellow rose, perfect in it's leaves and shape, in half bloom. I smiled looking at it, next thing i know, the car behind me is beeping at me cuz the light turned green. I continued on disgruntel that the person behind me was so busy, upset, etc that he didn't notice this beautiful rose laying on the side of the road in the rain, how it reflected on the black wet road slightly in the shiny water. But i smiled for the rest of the day seeing such a beautiful thing on such a busy street. I hoped that others would notice it too, but leave it there for as many people as possible to enjoy what I did. Thanks for posting such a lovely story.

Inana	21 May 2003
Astraea I also wish that child and all the others who gift free smiles are having better days too when someone smiles them in return! Thanks for sharing your stories, Sagitarian. The one of the yellow rose is very nice. I find people is sometimes so closed in their thoughts that dont pay attention to those little details that make life better. Now im remembering about one day i was walking on the street, around an industrial area not far from home. On the metallic roof of one of the buildings, they were seagulls in tens. That was an incredible picture too. Very cool.

coldsuns	01 Jun 2003
The Smile of a Child is good. But..a story to share with you all. I reiceve from my friend by e-mail. Do you remember February 1993 when a young 3 yr old was taken from a shopping mall in Liverpool by two 10-year-old boys. Jamie Bulger walked away from his mother for only a second and Jon Venables took his hand and led him out of the mall with his friend Robert Thompson. They took Jamie on a walk for over 2 and a half miles, along the way stopping every now and again to torture the poor little boy who was crying constantly for his mommy. Finally they stopped at a railway track where they brutally kicked him, threw stones at him, rubbed paint in his eyes and pushed batteries up his anus. It was actually worse than this... What these two boys did was so horrendous that Jamie's mother was forbidden to identify his body. They then left his beaten small body on the tracks so a train could run him over to hide the mess they had created. These two boys, even being boys, understood what they did was wrong, hence trying to make it look like an accident. This week Lady Justice Butler-Sloss has awarded the two boys anonymity for the rest of their lives when they leave custody with new identities. We cannot let this happen. They will also leave early this year only serving just over half of their sentence. One paper even stated that Robert may go on to University. They are getting away with their crime. They disgustingly and violently took Jamie's life away - in return they get a new life.

Inana	02 Jun 2003
Hi, Coldsuns! That was very hard. There are some cases when teenagers and kids can act with real strong cruelty. Childhood is not always so nice, and neither are the childs. In fact, im worried because within the last years the agressivity and delinquency in younger people its growing a lot. But guess its also growing in general, like a dark spot. So... well... is hard to give an opinion about this matter. Have we to blame them, the society, their education or whatever else for what they did? I mean... i tend to think people around eleven years or so, are very concious about what they are doing, since they can understand whats wrong, whats right, whats death, etc... But in the other hand, i dont know until which point they are able to understand deeply what were they doing, the damage they were causing. It is because people tends to be very egocentric at those age, and also very pressioned by the environment. I dont believe is bad to give them another oportunity, but is for sure they have to be under watch. Maybe they can correct their lives and become better persons, ok or maybe not. It depends if you think people is evil by nature or by other causes, and if you believe people can change. But is easy to me to say, since is not my nephews or someone i know who was murdered. Guess the problem here is to work for preventing this kind of behaviour. Any thoughts someone about all this?

allibee	02 Jun 2003
Coldsuns, your news is a bit out of date I'm afraid. They are already released into statutory anonymity. Last heard of enjoying a holiday abroad ... paid for by the state.... ie the taxpayer. A.

cjtarot	09 Jun 2003
Hi everyone.. From a mom's point of view... THERE ARE SOME SICK PEOPLE OUT THERE... BUT There are also a LOT more wonderful people who come in all kinds of packages (peirced tounges and all).. I have a typical outgoing 4 yr old who would talk to anyone, smile at everyone (especially after she did something she knows is wrong.,lol). The key is to always be at their side, make sure you let them know it's ok to say HI and smile..NOT OK to leave with someone they don't know.. It's amazing to see the transformations..the elderly person or overworked person in the grocery line behind you..grumpy because they have to wait, suddenly is all smiles and talking when Sammy starts up a conversation, smiles, tell them what she is buying and what she is getting for sissy asks them what they have..and so on... SO OUR ASSIGNMENT FOR TODAY..or for some of us TOMARROW.. Smile at someone who looks like they need it (be the child), look at the flowers..notice the beautiful way the light shines thru the trees (notice I didn't say sun..I'm beginning to forget what he looks like)...send out and recieve hugs of a different kind Blessings Cj

SingingTarot	10 Jun 2003
As a mother of two boys age 5 and 1, coldsun's post devastated me completely. It took me several days to feel better (I feel bad to say this), and not just cry when thinking about it. I cannot imagine how the parents, especially the mother of this little boy can cope with what happened. It makes so very sad for that little boy, I cannot comprehend how much he must have suffered, and that is unbearable. There, I'm going to cry again. It makes me really scared for my children, I just want to hug them and NEVER let go. Yet, on the other hand, what can you do. I believe it is not healthy to overprotect your children like we might be tempted to do sometimes. I agree with cj tarot. Do not ever leave them alone. This bit of news, made me be real careful if we are in a park and they are at a distance, I try to be aware of my surroundings. Sounds like being a parent is halfway between playing joyfully with your children while keeping a close watch on what's going on around. It makes me all the more grateful to have my children, or any child for that matter, offer me their spontaneous smile, without expectation or judgement. The boys and I take the bus everyday, and I always let them smile at whoever they please, even if sometimes my primal reaction would be to turn them the other way. I live pretty close to the Smart family, if any of you remember this other dreadful story, which at least ended with the recovery of their daugther Elizabeth. This all tend to make us extremely suspicious of anybody who looks different. Which, I believe, is a very bad thing. Wouldn't you suspect a weird looking adult rather than 2 ten year old boys? And yet... Gosh, this is a long post, I apologize, I am glad I finally got the strength to post my answer on this thread. If a child smiles, please, take it for what it is, a great unconditional gift. Alice

Inana	12 Jun 2003
Quote: Originally posted by cjtarot SO OUR ASSIGNMENT FOR TODAY..or for some of us TOMARROW.. Smile at someone who looks like they need it (be the child), look at the flowers..notice the beautiful way the light shines thru the trees (notice I didn't say sun..I'm beginning to forget what he looks like)...send out and recieve hugs of a different kind This is a very good advice, very simple but sometimes hard to follow... On a sidenote (and i hope im not interfering in whats not my bussines) Forgetting how the sun looks like? Why? Just look through the window... Im getting burned by the sun, starting to look like a chicken inside an oven. Sorry, this line just has catched my eye. I agree with you and SingingTarot, although i have not children, you always have to look over kids and not let them go alone, but i think this is insctintual on a mother. And, of course, one can never judge people for the way they look like.

The The Smile of a Child thread was originally posted on 08 May 2003 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.