Lessons from a baby

This morning, Bryan tried to play spider-baby again. He tried to pull himself on the display cupboard in our living room, by placing his palms on the glass door. Since the surface is flat, it is hard for him to hold on and of course he fell, brushing against the side of the cupboard (1). He tried to get himself up, and fell some more, now against the coffee table next to the cupboard (2). Determined to get up, he tried to balance and pull himself up, only to fall to the floor (3).

And did he cry? No. Instead he got angry with himself and swatted his forehead with his palms. And tried to do it all over again.

I find this amusing that i related this to my colleagues over lunch. And my friends remarked that sometimes we should look at babies and learn from them. Baby perceive pain differently from us, and their determination for success is so strong.

How true? There are indeed lessons that we can learn from a baby. Things that we forget as we age...

1. We will always make mistakes when we are learning, and life is a never-ending learning experience.
2. It's ok to fall. Just learn to get up and try again.
3. Just because you fail the first time, it does not mean you will fail again.

These are indeed priceless lessons in life. Imagine, if a baby does not possess them, they will never learn to stand, walk, run, talk, ...

As adults, we are often afraid to make mistakes, to challenge our limits and to try new things. We are hampered by our past failures and painful experiences. But if we don't learn to let them go, how far do you think we can go...?