What do you live for?

‘I wasn’t good at one subject. I felt I would fail. I felt scared. I managed to express this to my friends. They helped me get past my fear, study better and I scored decent marks. Always tell your friends what you feel, once it is out there, solutions can be found to what you face’

Pratik, a class ninth student shared this when asked about sharing a learning from some problem faced. What learning indeed! I till date struggle to share a crisis. I can’t ask for help when I know I am terribly in need of it. I like to solve things for others but to share what I face, takes courage which I don’t have yet.

Pratik effortlessly gave me my first lesson of the year. Listening to Pratik and observing this session, I felt like its high time I gather some courage and speak up.

‘In a group, it is important to listen to all members. A group can have a fruitful outcome only if all members have a say, and the group’s goal is above all personal goals’

A class eight kid said when asked about the learning from a group activity called ‘human knot’. Such simple learning but something core to the functioning of almost all kinds of organizations everywhere.

I remember as a kid, we would play games in a group. We would gather for a common goal of play. We would have our fights and there would be differences as to what game to play, where to play but nothing ever affected the core goal of play.

Now, as I see personal fights come in way of group meets and goals, in different groups that I am part of, it feels stupid. Feels like to take all to their childhood and show them, how simple it is to live and function as a group. I wonder how we unlearn all this as we grow.

Both these experiences I had were on the fourth and fifth day of the year respectively. I had the above two big lessons. I engraved both and wrote in my diary a few more things I can learn.

One of the first things I wish to learn is active listening. This goes beyond listening words, it is about listening to the unsaid words, the actions, the body language, the vibe. I wish to imbibe this skill to know more of a person.

I wrote this because I saw how well the kids on both days sensed a vibe. How good kids are at learning from the unsaid words. Twice I observed one pick up other’s bad mood quick and inform it to the teacher to help fix it. What a skill to have!

Many of the kids I interacted with perhaps didn’t have a happy backstory. Their life of a few years on earth perhaps had more struggles than what I have faced till today. But the beauty of childhood is, no backstory affects play!

When these kids played, they didn’t carry any burden of any kind. They live in the moment. In spite of harsh times, they have the power to let go of all of it, live their age for the little while they are with the Toybank field officers.

I didn’t have many board games while growing up. But I learned maximum from the few I had. I remember all the outdoor games that we played. I don’t have the courage to talk to all the group members I played with as a kid. Things I can perhaps try to do this year.

More than everything, I learned how simple the idea of life is for a kid. And how important it is to protect the innocence and imbibe all needed skills at the right age. This is exactly what I wish to work for the rest of my life.

I don’t exactly know how, but this is it, this is what I wish to do. Thank you 2019, within the first few days you have shown me, made me see in reality, what is it that I wish to work for, what is ‘cause’ I want to live for!