Save the Children

This morning we gave a recollection to grade 6 students of the Ateneo de Manila. The recollection was about how to express anger constructively. I was amazed by the sincerity and honesty of the students in telling how they really feel when they get angry.

One small and chubby kid said, "I feel like a murderer when I am angry because I want to hurt people who hurt me." Another one said, "I feel like a loudspeaker when I am angry because when nobody listens to me I want to shout out real loud." And another one admitted, "I feel like a volcano about to erupt anytime when I am angry."

In today's world where men and women are seldom heard speaking the truth it is truly refreshing to witness children say things they truly feel and mean. It gives me a sense of hope that after all, we still have the children to look up to. Cynicism, skepticism and indifference sometimes cloud my judgment on the way things are going. Yet when I see kids not yet tainted by malice or greed or any political motive I am encouraged to continue hoping, continue believing that in the end, everything will turn out fine.

Perhaps, the Chinese writer Lu Xun is right when he said, it is not too late: Save the Children!

"Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." (Luke 18:15-17)