Children in their puberty ask (in many cases very loudly) for respect, although they can have a huge difficulty in giving it themselves. The voice of protest is never far away\u2026 and I think they are essentially right. I also think that to become a grown-up in a profound way means to keep one\u2019s own puberty alive.<\/p>\n
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Isn\u2019t it nice?<\/p>\n
To get older in a profound way is to stay forever young.<\/p>\n
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Of course I\u2019m not talking here of protest just and only for its own sake. I see puberty as the age in which a new personality is being formed further while also coming into contact with the real world. This means looking at the world in a new and fresh way. Beginner\u2019s mind. The mind of someone who doesn\u2019t look through layers and layers of deeply internalized preconceptions. Surely the preconceptions of puberty are there, but they too are still fresh and very changeable. This is wisdom, if only it gets proper support.<\/p>\n
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Of course a child in puberty needs support. Tons of support. A huge part of this can be delivered as respect. This is: really listening to the child, not taking anything for granted from either side. To \u2018feel\u2019 the child and to let yourself be \u2018felt\u2019 without taking recourse to the immediate and harsh \u201cI know, you don\u2019t\u201d. What\u2019s on a child\u2019s mind?<\/p>\n
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Children of any age need \u2018soul\u2019. If you give them some, you can see how they blossom. If they don\u2019t get it, they become demotivated, disrespectful themselves, bored, even violent. After a while and a number of aborted efforts, even their asking for \u2018soul\u2019 disappears. Everything becomes useless, especially adults, especially the own parents. What remains in really bad cases, are mainly egoistic longings and in the end, out of despair and not knowing anything else, becoming themselves the loathed adults to a new generation of genuine askers.<\/p>\n
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It doesn\u2019t need to be that way. If you\u2019re an adult and have trouble with a child in puberty, then look for \u2018soul\u2019 and give it. Talk about it. Don\u2019t run away by giving the child anything that it demands. \u2018Anything\u2019 is not \u2018soul\u2019. It may even be the opposite. The child doesn\u2019t ask any-thing. It asks the one thing. Not only the child before you does so. Also the \u2018child within you\u2019 does. Therefore be deeply honest. Be truly yourself. Keep the child within yourself always alive. You and all your children will reap the rewards.<\/p>\n
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Play. Play. Deeply play.<\/p>\n
In the morning. In the evening.<\/p>\n
Even your last breath will be a smile.<\/p>\n
\u25ca\u25ca\u25ca<\/p>\n
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