By
In Jo's Blog

Yesterday, I took Nandita to visit Karuna Vihar Special School as part of her review of our work (Nandita D’Souza is a brilliant developmental pediatrician who runs Sethu,  a centre like ours in Goa).

We got there early enough to see the children arriving, all happy and eager to greet their teachers before starting the new day.

Small boy does Namaste to his teacher; two children and a teacher look on from the side

Some of them had important things to tell their teachers:

Little boy with glasses in conversation with his young teacher

while others were busy having fun with their friends:

Small boy and older boy with Down Syndrom on adapted bicycle while teacher helps from the side

It was a typical school morning. It was just the Assembly that got to me a little.

Teacher interpreting a child's story using sign languageEvery child – whether she could speak or not – was invited to come up and share something with the rest of the school. It could be as complex as explaining that Papa had brought ten bananas yesterday or as simple as declaring that today is Wednesday.

Today is Wednesday.

And tomorrow will be Thursday.

Very simple things, celebrated at Karuna Vihar, become profound.

Today is Wednesday. Tomorrow will be Thursday.  Think about that the next time you feel anxious or stressed.

The simplicity of what our children know and what they believe is important enough to be shared is a clue to understanding the universe. We make plans for next year; we invest for our retirement. We worry about the future; we regret the distant past.

Yet at Karuna Vihar, today is Wednesday. Tomorrow will be Thursday. A whole world in 48 hours. Time enough and world.

 

 

Showing 3 comments
  • zephyr
    Reply

    Indeed, children know and absorb more than an adult and their simplicity as you have put it, is profound. If only we could learn from the fact that tomorrow is just another day and not the monster waiting to swallow us!

  • Nandita
    Reply

    Jo, I have so many feelings fighting for expression right now
    1) Honor for having been with you and featuring in your blog (must add to my CV!)
    2) Deep respect for the work the LRF team does
    3) Admiration for how you apportion your energy and attention to your innumerable tasks everyday and yet find time to set off sparks of inspiration with your writing
    4) Joy for being touched and transformed by the magic of LRF.
    Yes, I am brilliant because you have helped me see the light! Profound gratitude, my friend.

  • Padmini
    Reply

    Hii ,,, nice to see people working for Fragile X kids with love and care unlimited.I am working on creating awareness for fragile X and has started a new blog with information of fragile X including current technologies…http://revolutioninfragilex.blogspot.in/
    so please visit, read, comment and share……

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