TEACHER – BALLOONS ?

Balloons fascinate children as much as stories do .

Have you seen a child run after a balloon ? Her face is a pure vision of joy , focus, excitement and fascination .

Is there anyone who has not played with balloons in their childhood ?

Undeniably  balloons have been a part of every childhood – be it ours or even our parents and grandparents.

Air filled balloons may have slowly given in to helium filled ones but no birthday or celebration is complete without balloons .

If a party is festooned with balloons , the child will forever be looking wistfully at them.

The best take aways after every children’s party are the hand me down balloons . Even with the most expensive return gift in hand , the child will say , “Can I take that balloon as well ?”  .

Strangely , as we grow up , balloons form less and less, a part of our life .
Isn’t that strange ?  Why should that be so ?

Let us introspect ….

Balloons and children are so similar .

Balloons are vibrant and always wanting to fly . So do children.

Balloons  always want to bounce higher and higher . So do children.

Balloons are simple to manipulate – no folds , no layers, no gadgetry  . Children are just as easy to understand .

Balloons know no excuses .Big or small, green or yellow – all of them want to bounce higher. Just  like children.

Balloons form ‘play’ wherever they are placed. For children too , life is a playground, no matter where they are .

Balloons never tire , they are always ready for a bounce. So are children

Balloons inspire children to chase , bounce and jump. Such valuable life lessons . Isn’t life meant to be like that ?

Nothing can keep a balloon down for very long. Balloons teach us to rise after every fall. They are as resilient as a child .

If a red balloon bursts, children shift to the blue one or the next. “Oh ! that’s down and out, never mind, let me go for the next one”. Balloon play teaches our children such positive self talk .

Balloons carry no burden , they are as light as ‘today’ . There is no baggage of ‘yesterday’ or ‘tomorrow’. Children are as light in spirit as the balloon, isn’t it ?

Would it be right to say that children live life balloon style ?

So what happens when children begin to grow up and get infected by all adult worries , concerns and fears.

Our worries and concerns slow them down. Bouncing up requires an effort.

Life is no longer a playground, it begins to map out into a survival ground .

Getting up after fall is difficult as we begin to carry so much weight .
Weight of yesterday and weight of tomorrow .

With passing years , our energy begins to deflate .

Perhaps that is why the balloons slip away from our world………….

Time to change that.

Come, let us go back to being like a balloon aka a child.

And not let the balloon slip away from our child’s hands either.

Let us model to our kids that the air in the balloon is equal to the good that we do . The more the good, the more we bounce, because  good that we do keeps us happy and afloat .

The minute we  lose out on the joy of present  and lose faith in ourselves , we begin to lose air .

A simple inexpensive balloon teaches us what the most expensive possessions cannot.

Go, grab the balloon , you and your child, and never let it go .