Kids With Money?

Finally I got to watch this show, just before it was taken off the cinema screens. About two decades ago, I read the book, then watched the animated feature the first time I went to Sydney. I cried around the last part, while reading the book and watching the cartoon.

At that point in time, I had no idea why I cried, except that I thought it was so poor thing for the spider to die just like that. The story touched me until I cried. Now, years later, watching a more light-hearted movie adaptation of the book, I still cry at the last part.

But this time, I know why I cried. The story touched me to the bones. It left a heart-warming taste in my mouth, with the message that miracles do happen and the world will become a better place. It awoken the inner child in me, that one can learn the meaning of beauty, love, true friendship and innocence from an animal.

The message of the story is just this - be in touch with your inner child. All the innocence and naivety of youth often gave way to the seriousness of adulthood. A pity the childhood phase is just that - a phase. When one grows up, we get too bogged down by other things that we lose touch with what really matters - the simple things in life.

And that is such a sad truth everywhere. Perhaps we should start seeing things from the angle of a child. Picasso once said the greatest achievement in art is to draw like a child. Come to think of it, writing or drawing for children is not that easy, even worse than for adults. That is why it is so hard to be a Children's author or artist, but those who actually made it as one often beome the creme de la creme of the line, as their works get loved by both children and adults alike.

Because one has to go down to the level of a child, to see his / her point of view, the innocence, the beauty all over, and the simplicity of things. A pity we no longer have this ability once we reach adulthood, which is why not many adults can really relate to a child.

That is not to say we should be totally childish too. Children bicker over very petty things. Like if one wears the same type of clothes, or carry the same bag, buys the same stationery, one will be accused of copying and then a quarrel will ensue.

Or if one happens to come from a better family or scores better grades, he / she will then laugh and look down on the rest. After growing up, people supposedly become more sensible, and lost their childish side. Yet, why is it that well into adulthood, there are still people who bicker over the most trivial things? So what if my ideas are like yours? So what if we happen to like the same things? So what if we happen to go for the same show? Is it really that big a deal?

Someone once told me that adults can be more childish than real kids at times, because adults are not ignorant, that is why when they bicker, many things will be digressed and small things will balloon into big things. That is why this person also said that adults are essentially kids with money of their own.

Perhaps it is true, with certain people I have come across. So why do we not retain childlike innocence and simplicity instead of retaining the childishness of shallowness, narrow-mindedness, pettiness and bad-temperedness?