Ever tried reasoning with a two-year-old?
“Listen, if you have another cookie, you’re going to have a tummy ache, Sweetie,” to which your toddler responds, “Me, want another one,” in an even more pleading voice totally ignoring your sound advice.
And you know only too well where this will go upon saying, “No, not now.” A grimace, a quivering lower lip and an ear-piercing scream-generated cry that erupts into a full-blown tantrum. What happened to the little angel of moments ago? Is this really my child?
Obviously, reasoning with a two-year-old is foolhardy since emotional desires reign supreme in a toddler’s mind, and their behaviour is as changeable as it is unpredictable. Many a mom has breathed a sigh of relief once her little Johnny has grown out of this stage.
Life, however, does not grow out of any stage. Like a toddler, it is emotion-packed, angelic, not-so-angelic, changeable and unreasonably unpredictable. Its unpredictability can be as magical as a beloved grandma recovering from a life- threatening illness; or it can be horrible as what we just experienced happening in Boston.
Using logic to explain away life’s situations – and many of us have gone this route – ends up being a frustrating exercise. The mystery of life and its mystical properties are too big for our minds to fathom. Accepting the fact that our reason does not have the answer to everything is what allows us to begin to understand, appreciate and be humbled by life’s grand design.
Read more posts by Kita Szpak. Kita is a blogger for JenningsWire.
