Prem Rawat Unrehearsed Poetry: The Heart of a Child

We are chameleons-
we know how to change colors.
Imagine a house with five rooms-
green, yellow, purple, pink, and red.
We go into one room, and we become
the same color as the room.
That's what we have been doing.
"I'm a brother." And then,
"Now, I'm a father; now, I'm an employee;
now, I'm an employer.
Now, I'm a doctor; now, I'm a lawyer."

Chameleons.
We know how to blend in.
We not only know how to blend in,
we also forget ourselves.
We forget that little child within
that was simple.

Think way, way back to that little child
who loved happiness with all his might.
Remember that child who couldn't
wait for the day to begin?
Every morning the child looked
forward to something.
Yesterday didn't matter;
tomorrow was not in the agenda.

Today is everything-
to wake up and see the sun,
to look outside with fresh eyes.
So simple, so innocent, so incredible.
And then,
a little of this and a little of that,
and slowly, the peace we had went
away. And all that we thought
was going to bring us joy one day
now brings us pain.

And when it does, we say,
"What happened? All I want is peace.
All I want is joy in my life."
That's when people say,
"What can I do?"

Even in that moment,
know that all the joy is still there.
All the beauty is still there-
it never went away.
That child is still alive
and is living in us.
He is still there asking
for the same thing-to be content.
No more wishes than that.
Just to be content.

Children are obsessed
by the business of joy.
Watch a little child playing. There is an
obsession with satisfaction,
with contentment.
The child cries for one reason-
he is not content.
And he laughs for one reason-
because he is content.
He has no tomorrow.
His sense of responsibility is to wake up
in the morning with the sun.
"I am awake."

Approach this subject of life
with the same simplicity.
There is no mistake when it is said
that we should approach our thirst
with the heart of a child.

The child requires no definition,
no protocol to accept what it needs.

Come to Knowledge with simplicity.

Come with the heart
of that innocent child.

Come with an open heart,
not confusion and doubt.

As human beings,
our strength is not in doubt;
it is in understanding.
Our strength is not in questions;
it is in answers.
Our strength is not in ignorance;
it is in knowledge.
That is our strength.

It doesn't matter who we are,
what we are doing.
We can dance this dance of life.
This dance is real-
our expression of gratitude
in feeling thankful for this life.

Maharaji