I was five years old. I didn’t like that man; I started crying and begged her not to send me to the Jesuits – and she listened. But that’s another story.
That phrase made a lasting impression on my mother, so much so that she repeated it many times over the years. And today, it resonates deeply with me too. What did that priest mean? Now I know he meant that a child up to a certain age is like a sponge – they can be guided, directed, shaped, even manipulated. It depends on who’s looking after them, who’s influencing them.
Children up to the age of seven are essentially in a state of hypnosis – their brainwave frequency allows them to absorb everything they see and hear without filters. Perhaps the Jesuit priest didn’t know that, but he certainly knew that children under six can be programmed – and that’s exactly what happens, consciously or not.
Children are future adults, the future generation, the future society. They are delicate and sensitive, to be protected and heard, to be empowered – not shaped. The weapons we should be giving to children aren’t guns, hatred, competitiveness or aggression – nor guilt and submission – but knowledge, a love for learning, independent thinking, the ability to question everything in order to find what truly works for them, what aligns with their nature. Above all, we should give them self-respect and self-love.
Behind every child’s eyes lies a soul and a world waiting to be discovered. Children are perfect beings – if they get damaged, it is the responsibility, or the fault, of the adults. We were children once – remember? Get out the photos from when you were little. Look at your expressions at age three, four, five. Look into your eyes from back then. What were your favourite games? What was your personality like? What dreams, wishes, and hopes did you have?
Now go to the mirror and look into your eyes today. It might be shocking, or moving, or it might make you angry to realise how much you’ve changed, that you’ve given up on your dreams, that you don’t even know what you want anymore because you’ve been influenced by others and by what the media tells you, that you no longer recognise yourself. Look deeper into your eyes – because behind it all, that child is still there. They still need someone to listen and understand, someone who allows them to truly discover themselves and express who they are.
It’s not your fault if you didn’t receive this from those who cared for you – they probably didn’t receive it either and didn’t know how to give it. It’s not your fault if you didn’t listen to or love yourself enough – you didn’t think you deserved it, and you weren’t used to doing it.
That child is still inside you, and you can see them in your eyes. They’re asking you not to silence or ignore them anymore.
Today, we are adults, and we no longer need someone to take care of us. Of course, it’s lovely if someone does, but we don’t need it for survival. For a child, that need is very real – and if you don’t want to abandon them, hurt them, let them fall ill or die, it’s up to you.
What those children need most… is us.