avatarTavian Jean-Pierre

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Life Lessons

How a Children’s Book Changed My Life

Photo by Picsea on Unsplash

My baby sister is turning four this year, and I will never forget coming across one of the books she was reading. My mother normally reads to her. But sometimes when it is hard to find time, she lets my sister listen to stories through youtube.

Whilst looking through YouTube, I came across the book You Are (Not) Small by Anna Kang. So, I played the video and listened along with my sister. She sat there pointing at all the funny looking characters, whilst I was amazed by how much I was learning.

The book only has two or three sentences but is illustrated wonderfully by Christopher Weyant. Ever since listening to the book, I have never looked at Children books the same. The book changed my views on life and helped me become a better thinker.

Before reading on, it may be helpful to watch the clip to understand the story. I have put a link to the video below.

Now and then, we are reminded of the childlike spirit still in us as adults. Whether that be playing a game with the family or laughing at a silly joke. These moments in life remind us of what it was like to be a child, and we often learn how much we miss it.

However, the child in us never leaves. And you may be surprised how much you can learn from listening to its still small voice in your conscience. A lot of the things we believe as a child end up getting unlearned as we get older. However, there are some things we learn which can direct the course of our lives.

There are points in life where the adult and child can meet paths and inspire one another. In this case, the child in me was learning from this short book. And in doing so, the adult in me took four important lessons away. So here are the new insights I have from reading the children’s book I am (not) small.

Lesson 1: Our Truths Come From How We Perceive Our Environment

The beginning of the book starts with a debate between two characters. The first character persists in arguing that they are not small. Instead, they believe that the other character is just big. And the big character says they are not big. Instead, they say that the other character is just small.

As this argument continues, the bigger character does something interesting. He proves his point by getting a bunch of people who look like he does, to show this. The other character does the same to prove his point.

Many of our truths are moulded by our environment. Unfortunately, our truths are based on personal experiences and perceptions of the world.

However, by forming truths in this way, we cancel out the experiences of others. Both characters are right, based on their perspective, but it brings about conflict.

A lot of the time, we resonate with those who have similar stories to us. But this does not help humanity get closer together. Instead, it divides us amongst different cultures, political parties and more. And we tend to justify those divisions by gathering others who think just like us, to prove our point.

From this, I have learned that if we are to solve any problems in the world, we must ignore our truths. They tend to be based on experiences that only we have had and not others. So, we should constantly re-evaluate what we think of the world because another perspective may be closer to the truth.

Lesson 2: We Get Frustrated When Our Truths Fail

Once both characters proved themselves, anger burst out. Even as adults, we tend to behave in this way when someone does not accept our viewpoint. We get upset and become very stubborn, despite the other person having something to say.

However, the anger is not coming from the fact that they have been proven wrong. Most reasonable people will stop arguing if there is clear evidence against their belief. Although they may still be upset, they tend to swallow the truth and continue with life.

What is angering these two characters is that their perceptions of the world have broken down. And this happens to us as we age. As children, we learn to share and treat others the way we would like to be treated. But as we get older, we soon see that people are very greedy.

So, we change our mindset and start putting ourselves first. We no longer try to befriend everyone we see, or feel obliged to be nice. Instead, we keep to ourselves, and only when the opportunity arises, we are nice to others.

At the point where we realise that not everyone is kind, our framework of thinking is destroyed. And whether we like it or not, we are forced to change the way we live our lives. We may feel conflicted and upset when this occurs.

When our perceived truths fail in areas of our lives, we are quick to get angry. That is because the way we are living is no longer aligned with the knowledge we now have. This causes us to have to change our viewpoint, but in some cases, we do not want to.

I learned that if I ever find myself in a position where my truths fail, I must be willing to accept the facts of a different perspective. If I do not, I could end up doing damage to myself and others around me. And the book clearly shows this through the back and forth shouting and arguing.

Lesson 3: The World Is Not Black and White

Towards the end of the book, a tiny character lands on the page. Along with a giant. Both characters who were arguing before, realise that they are both big and small. From this experience, they learn that size is relative to the other things around it.

The third perspective helps both characters learn that their truths are neither wrong nor right. And this is how life is. When we are young, we form very black and white views of the world because that is easier to understand.

As children, we learn simple rules to be on our best behaviour. But, the black and white model of the world has to be broken, as we understand more about the world around us. As we begin learning about other people’s experiences, we can have a more wholesome view of the world.

From this, we can draw better conclusions from the world around us. And that helps us govern our lives in a way that is better for society and ourselves. We need more than two or three perspectives to come to a reasonable conclusion on a matter.

So, I have taken the step to start reading on other views in the world. And how people who think differently to me would solve problems I would like to solve. This way, I am adding new perspectives to my truth and learning that the world is more than just my view and another.

From knowing this, I can then apply it to my life and start living in a way that is better suited for the world. Not with a black and white mindset, but instead, a greyish one. That allows me to have a well-rounded philosophy.

Lesson 4: Different Perspectives Can Co-Exist In Harmony

At the end of the book, the two characters who were initially arguing go for lunch together. We live in a world where opposing views appear to no longer be able to co-exist. People are so bitter and angry they would rather bicker than listen to the other side.

Unfortunately, our world is being torn apart. People are choosing to be divided rather than united. The book showed me that if we are accepting, we can live in harmony with one another, despite our views.

That is not to say that all perspectives should be treated equally. However, it is about still giving those opinions a voice, and not disregarding them.

Our freedom to speak, and have views of our own, is slowly being stripped away from us. But we can begin being more accepting of other truths by doing what the characters in the book did.

By putting their differences aside, they were still able to sit down at the same table. It is possible to do if we care to listen to all other perspectives around us. And not focus on defeating each other, but instead, listening to their stories.

Closing Thoughts

It is interesting how a children’s book can teach us so much about the world around us. I have started to take a bit more interest in children books since, and connect with some of the authors.

From the short children’s book, here is a recap of my lessons:

Lesson 1: Our truths come from our stories and individual perspective of the world. Therefore, we should be more open to others.

Lesson 2: When our truths fail us, we get frustrated. So, we must be willing to accept the fact of a different perspective.

Lesson 3: The world is not black and white. So, invest yourself in learning more about other perspectives to become well-rounded.

Lesson 4: Different perspective can co-exist. We must stop focussing on our differences and think about what pulls us together.

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