by Joe Stoutzenberger

As we walked through a nearby park, my three-year-old grandson spent a long time running, jumping, and climbing until he suddenly stopped and sighed, “I’m tired.” He immediately lay down spread-eagled in the middle of the path. It reminded me of the teaching of the Zen master: “When you work, work. When you eat, eat. When you sleep, sleep. This is Zen.” It takes a childlikeness to live like that. When you play, play. When you rest, rest. Three-year-old Aidan seemed to get it. There’s a childlike simplicity to being in the present moment that we all would do well to cultivate.

An incident recounted in Mark’s gospel (Mark 10:13-16) reveals how Jesus looked upon children and childlikeness: 

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

Jesus knew that childlike simplicity, openness, and honesty are essential in the kingdom of God. Likewise, Zen is all about developing childlikeness, a “beginner’s mind” that is attuned to the present moment, unencumbered by preconceived categories. If children are surrounded by loving grown-ups, they can appreciate Jesus’s message, “Let not your heart be troubled.” Anxieties and misgivings too often mount as we grow, sometimes even at a relatively early age today. We carry such baggage that weighs us down, preventing us from entering the moment with delight and receptiveness. While I pushed him on a swing, my grandson said in an exhilarating voice, “This is fun!” Hopefully, despite our trials and tribulations, we can all say at times, “This is fun!” Only then can we be grateful and appreciative. Cultivating a sense of humor helps; if, on occasion, we laugh uncontrollably, even better.

Childlikeness is not the same as childishness. Grasping our toys and not sharing, it’s all about “me” and “mine,” taunting and bullying can appear at an early age. It’s particularly troublesome when childish behavior continues into adulthood. Childlikeness is different. It’s seeing the magic around us, being filled with wonder at beauty, delighting in the goodness and kindness of others. Tapping into our “inner child” means cultivating those qualities that Jesus saw in the little ones who came to Him. They saw goodness and kindness and wanted to be part of it.

The recent movie, “The Life of Chuck,” begins with billboards and television ads reading, “Thank you, Chuck, for thirty-nine years.” Perhaps it was the musings of a man about to die who could look at the composite of his life and say, “Thank you.” A highlight of the movie is his delight in a grade-school dance and later dancing on a street corner as a street musician drums away. Hopefully, despite dying at a young age, he could remember such moments and say, “That was fun.” An early image for the Blessed Trinity is that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit “dance around” one another. Jesus’s life story is an invitation to join in the dance, which continues even after death. It takes childlike humility and openness to say yes to the dance and enter into it, the kingdom of God.