Of those who are like them

I just wanted to post the google translated version of this incredibly beautiful article by Jesús Montiel.

Click here for the original article, "De los que son como ellos".


Of those who are like them

"I believe that children are the proof that we’re not made for projects, but for loving and being loved. Only in this way does the contingent situation make sense, and does the present not collapse."

Jesús Montiel  •  April 1, 2020

My children never fail to surprise me. During lockdown they never once complained, unlike us adults. They accept the situation because the true normality for children is their family. I observed that a child who grows up in a loving home, which isn't necessarily perfect, doesn't wish for much more. My children, like so many children, accept this life with less natural light, without the sky, and with only the "park" made up of their toys at home.

I remember another longer quarantine, in a hospital. My oldest son's cancer forced us to live in the Children's Oncology Ward for two years. In these circumstances, he did not complain either-- for two, three and four years. Those bald children exhibited a scandalous docility; they did not fight. And that attitude of discipline, so far from adult gossip, was an indelible lesson for me. Now I see that same acceptance again in him and his brothers. It's amazing. An acceptance that is not conformity but authentic consent. The child and the tree are alike: they accept each day as it comes and do not fantasize about what will happen. Their occupation is what is happening.

You are enough for us, they say. And they also say it without words, in the language of the wise: through actions. Life is about a return to this ancient wisdom that children flaunt effortlessly, focused on the present that we neglect. I am touched by my children these days, and sometimes I cry secretly for everything they give me without asking for anything in return. They are road signs for my soul, which sometimes is disoriented.  I believe that children are the proof that we’re not made for projects, but for loving and being loved. Only in this way does the contingent situation make sense, and does the present not collapse.


J. Montiel, The Objective, April 2, 2020.  Translated by CL and google translate.