I was in High School then when Air Supply popularized the song entitled, “In the Eyes of a Child”. The song, I believe, did not make it much in the popularity ratings that has somehow became our measure of success. We have almost every kind of surveys regarding popularity and fame especially in the political arena. But even if the song has lost its popularity in the passage of time, it sure has delivered its message to all who had the chance to listen to it. I admired that song because there is truth in its lyrics plus the soft music that captivates the soul. Sad to think that I do not have a copy of it so I can listen to it to my heart’s content, but I can still sing some parts of it because I memorized the part of the song which I love most.
“In the eyes of a child, there is joy, there is laughter, there is hope, there is trust, and a chance to shape the future. For the lessons of life, there is no better teacher than the look in the eyes of a child.”
Indeed, a perfect message especially now that we had just celebrated the Feast of the Santo Niño last Sunday. A perfect message for today’s generation where violence, despair, distrust, sadness, and a lot of other evils reign as never before. A very appropriate message to those who are embracing a kind of culture that is anti-LIFE and to those women who never had the chance to embrace and nourish their own child within the protective and loving arms of a real mother. And this is the kind of message that must be taught and inculcated in the minds of all people who are in search of a meaning in their life and in their existence. Because, indeed, it is true that all the necessary things in life that a person must learn to be a better person someday can really be learned just by the look in the eyes of a child.
What lessons do we learn from the look in the eyes of children? Looking in their eyes, I see their complete trust in their parents, and, in their innocence, they know by heart that their parents will never do them any harm. They know how to appreciate things that are given them no matter how small or how cheap it may be. They can laugh out loud with no hypocrisy or ill-will at all because what they see around them, they always consider to be pure, true, and beautiful. These simple things may be considered as elementary and for children only and maybe we all had our unique experience of these same things. However, as we grow older, we always tend to forget these basic and simple lessons. Our life as we grow older becomes complex and, along the way, we make some fatal mistakes, and we just realize that our life is a total mess. What has gone wrong?
When I had my stomach problems some years back, I had my executive check up with a medical doctor in Manila who gave very simple advice when I asked him what I should do to regain my health. He told me to go back to basics. Of course, he meant that I should learn to eat vegetables which are rich and fiber and drink plenty of water and take some physical exercises. I recovered from that stomach problem, though, with all honesty, I did not actually follow his advice because I still hate vegetables up until now. But then, his simple suggestion is not just a suggestion for me to get better and healthier, but it is a suggestion that has a bearing in my entire life because later did I realize that we need to go back to the basic and the simple things in life if we really want to be happy and possess that joy that we all are aspiring to achieve. The key to our success has been taught to us early on in our life. All the lessons that we need and ought to learn in life were taught to us when we were still infants. If we had forgotten them, the look in the eyes of a child will remind us of all that we missed and lost along the way.
Our Lord Jesus, as the Santo Niño whom we love so much has left us an example to follow, not only as an infant child, but in His entire life. He was a Son who had been so obedient to His Father’s will up to the Cross. He was so trusting just like a child even if He must drink of the cup of suffering. He was so loving that He loved even those who despised Him here on earth. He was a very happy and contented man as he appreciated every sinner’s gesture of saying sorry.
“In the eyes of a child, there is joy, there is laughter, there is hope, there is trust, and a chance to shape the future. For the lessons of life, there is no better teacher than the look in the eyes of a child.” That Child is the Santo Niño, and that child is you and me and all of us when we do the will of God and trust no one else but Him alone. When we are lost and misguided somehow, somewhere along the way, let us look in the eyes of a Child and then we will learn.