La Princesita never ceases to blow me away.
One of the latest revelations to surface involved her church school lessons. She stated that, although she likes the stories of, say, Adam and Eve, she doesn't think they are true.
Surprised at her directness, I asked her why.
"Because snakes can't really talk. And what about the cavemen? And the dinosaurs? Wasn't there an order that things kind of followed, and humans kind of came from them? How could God just have planted a human here and make him talk like we do and say 'there, all done'?"
Wow. I was silent.
"I mean, obviously there is God but I don't think that it happened like all the stories say it happened. How did anyone know? Nobody else was alive, so it's just a story."
--That where the idea of myth comes in.
"What's myth?"
--Stories that kind of draw pictures of things we believe to create a story that makes something hard to understand easier.
"So what is this a picture of?"
--Well, Adam and Eve show us that we need a male and a female to create life. There is no other way. We know that by science.
"Yeah. But what about the snake?"
--You know that little voice inside of you that nags you when you do something you shouldn't do? It's kind of like that little voice.
"Oh, okay." And she turns back to her coloring.
*---*
That conversation left me bursting with pride. My little girl is willing to grow, expand and question in ways that I never felt the freedom as a child to do. Instead, I was given no reason to think beyond the parameters of literalism, which is something I truly believe hindered my intellectual development. She wants to understand the world in the way she best feels comfortable; a practical, scientifically-explicable way and is open to learning different points of view including, more importantly, the WHYs driving different points of view. The thoughts that she voices can sometimes amaze me as they often reflect a level of thinking I didn't achieve until I was much, much older.
May I always give my children the tools they need to be free, open-minded thinkers.
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You are such a good mama. Also I hope you find just the right dress.... maybe a resale shop? We have one in a very trendy part of town where the wealthy take their things....oh wow...some great clothes and at great prices! Good Luck.
ResponderEliminarAwesome converstion! My kids have asked me similar things. I remind them that some spiritual stories, like the Bhagavad Gita, are really about what's going on inside each person. Psychology and spirituality are often intertwined.
ResponderEliminarHooray for your daughter, and for you.
Boy Howdy, that child has been PAYING ATTENTION!!!
ResponderEliminarSmart kid, great mama.
Wow, she blows me away that girl of yours. No wonder you are very proud of her!
ResponderEliminarI think one of the greatest gifts a parent can give a child is to allow that sort of questioning and freedom of thought.
ResponderEliminarthat's awesome. my kids still think we came down from clouds...like, it rained PEOPLE. (i am also the mom that waited a while before teaching them to tell time because then they would be on to me when I put them to bed early)
ResponderEliminar