Children are not at all afraid to ask questions or make inquiries.
Recently I saw three little children lined up in front of me at the
airport. The three siblings were asking a young lady standing behind
them whether she spoke Spanish. Although the young lady in question
was obviously from the Indian subcontinent, the children were asking
this question in Spanish itself. They had no preconceived notions to
limit their inquiries. They did not assume that the lady would be
annoyed with their 'silly' questions, nor did they think, She doesn't
look like she would know Spanish. No! They just asked. The young
woman looked puzzled, not having understood what they were saying.
So, what happened? I overheard and told the children that I did speak
Spanish. Right away they started firing questions at me. Where are
you going? India, I told them. They asked if there is a war going on
in India, if there are weapons in India (at least that is what I
understood) and whether India is beautiful. I told them no, yes and
yes. The questions were fast and furious. What is the meaning of the
mark on your forehead? Why is it different from the one on the other
lady's forehead? They wanted to know the significance of the tilak I
had applied to the forehead, and they found the answers fascinating.
These children did not fear they would appear foolish due to the
questions; they kept satisfying their curiosity and learned something
they did not know earlier. Adults are forever saying, "I wanted to
ask, but I was afraid I would sound like a fool." Children do not
care whether they seem like fools; they just ask.
You may say, "But all questions are not important." And you are
right. They are not. But there are very important questions, such as
WHO AM I, WHAT IS THE AIM OF LIFE? HOW WILL I FULFILL MY TRUE AIM?
Such questions are truly worth inquiring about.
Inquire like a child.
