How do people grow? You know, when he drinks milk, he gets taller, his bones get stronger. How else does he grow? Is it just what he eats? What does it mean to grow up? Growing; it must mean having strong bones, fast-running feet, or being able to pick up toys. And being able to eat properly… Babies can’t do these things. Babies can’t talk either. I can speak. Even if they can’t speak, they can say what they mean. Have they grown then?
This growth issue is complicated. As you get older, you get used to everything more quickly. I think grown-ups think that’s the case, but maybe they just get used to it. Isn’t it a difficult thing to understand the grown-ups and grow up?
They can explain themselves. Like everything else, emotions have names. They can say many things instead of putting into one word the way they feel. I think their effort to give names to everything is in order to talk less and live longer. I’m happy, excited, scared, crying, hungry, cold and missing… There are many more examples. If I wonder and ask, what does happiness mean? “Just being happy!” the grown-ups say. They obviously don’t know what’s exactly going on either.
I guess I need to understand how it feels before I know the name of the emotion I want to describe. That’s when I can answer when someone younger than me asks. What is real happiness? That’s easy! To eat leek pastry! A crispy, warm pastry, well fried… When you come from outside, the smell of pastry fills the place. You take a deep breath and say, “Oh!” That’s real happiness! It is also running into the kitchen and looking at the pastry tray. My eyes wide open as I stare. Oh, what a good taste! My mother knows what she is doing. Not the definition of happiness, but the pastry of happiness well made. Look how easy it is to explain. Why are adults struggling? If they would say to eat leek pastry, I would understand anyway.
What does it mean to be upset? No need to ask the elders. Let me tell you. It means that my friends at school don’t understand me. I love to talk. I wonder and ask questions. But now I can only do this at home. When I ask: “What’s this?” I’m very excited to get an answer. Now I have learned to read and write in my own language. I write my questions and look for answers. I could become a researcher. Am I curious or what?
Not being able to speak my friends’ language at school makes me sad, but when we find a way to communicate, it’s like I have eaten leek pastry. And my curious side gets involved. When I write down the new things I learned in my notebook, I feel like a sailor sailing a ship on big seas.
On the way back home, I thought I owned a treasure. I’m having so much fun. How are adults happy? How do they feel when upset? When they are happy afterwards, do they feel strong as if they have defeated a dragon? Anyway, my curious mind started asking questions again. When I get a little older and discover grown-ups, I will write in my notebook. I will tell the secrets of the elders.
You don’t need to spend a lot of money to be happy. I think waiting to be happy means missing the opportunity to be happy. Being content with what I have, producing something new while including my imagination is enough for me to be happy.
