Coping up with Stress by Seeing the World through "The Eyes of a Child"

In today’s society, feeling stressed is pretty much unavoidable. Anything that puts high demands on you or forces you to adjust can be stressful, like the pressure in the workplace, rocky relationships, and the fast-changing technology. We sometimes worry too much on how to make both ends meet. Living up to the expectations of being a responsible adult nowadays pushes us to the limit.

Back in the elementary years, I first heard this song used in a radio advertisement. Upon listening to it, its heartfelt lyrics coupled with the playful but contemplative melody burned into my consciousness. When I grew old and researching for some memorable songs, I surfed on the net and found the title and the artist. All the while, I thought it was rendered by a female singer but I was surprised to know that it’s a Christmas single by the soft rock band Air Supply.  This song, titled “The Eyes of a Child”, is composed by Ron Bloom and Graham Russell and included in The Christmas Album released in 1987. Below are the lyrics of the song:

When you look to the past for life's long hidden meaning

For the dreams and the plans made in your youth

Does the thrill to achieve match the warm hidden feeling

That lies so still and lives in you?

In the eyes of a child there is joy, there is laughter

There is hope, there is trust, a chance to shape the future

For the lessons of life there is no better teacher

Than the look in the eyes of a child

You've found the place to walk the path you've chosen

You'll never miss the world you've left behind

When life gives life, it's happiness unbroken

When you give love, it's love you'll find

In the eyes of a child there is joy, there is laughter

There is hope, there is trust, a chance to shape the future

For the lessons of life there is no better teacher

Than the look in the eyes of a child

In the eyes of a child there is joy, there is laughter

There is hope, there is trust, a chance to shape the future

For the lessons of life there is no better teacher

Than the look in the eyes of a child

In the eyes of a child there is joy, there is laughter

There is hope, there is trust, a chance to shape the future

For the lessons of life there is no better teacher

Than the look in the eyes of a child

Than the look in the eyes of a child

Credit goes to the composer, the performer, and the label under which the album was released.

                After listening to the song, enjoying its orchestration that is far from the band’s usual music arrangement, and savoring its lyrics, I became lachrymose and had dawning realization that I worried too much and let the stress affect me because I forgot to look back at how I view the world when I was a kid: full of positivism, delight, aspirations, and certainty. There’s nothing wrong with reminiscing your childhood as a way of coping up with stress, as long as you are able to clear your mind and adjust with the demands of the society.

Though this is a Christmas song, I believe this can be played the whole year round to remind us that, whenever we feel that we are being put under pressure, let’s pause and take a look at the eyes of children playing and learn from them to view life as how they do. As the old saying goes, “The child is the father to the man.”

"Un Jour, Un Enfant": Protecting the Innocence of the Child

Filipinos are well known to be child-loving. It is reflected on their devotion to the Holy Child of Jesus and it’s expressed through religious festivals in different parts of the Philippines. Every October, the National Children’s Month is celebrated as mandated by Presidential Proclamation 267 issued by then President Fidel V. Ramos. Even local child star Ryzza Mae Dizon rose to stardom by capturing the hearts of the fans, both children and adults alike, through showing her wit despite her innocence. Truly, the fondness for children by the Filipinos is never questioned.

Last March 4 was the birthday of the musician Paul Mauriat, best known for his instrumental cover of the song “Love is Blue” and his work titled “El Bimbo”. He had also done other beautiful instrumental songs such as “La Decadanse”. But when I searched for his other works that day, I was surprised to know that he did an instrumental cover of the song “Un Jour, Un Enfant”.  This contemplative music rings a bell to some Filipinos, especially those who lived in the ‘80s as this was part of the lazy Sunday afternoon habit of watching television.

I can vividly remember that this song was used as a score for crying scenes in the now-defunct local drama anthology “Lovingly Yours, Helen”. Its luscious orchestration can move even the hard-hearted to tears despite the absence of lyrics. Its powerful arrangement made me curious and further researched for the details of the song. One of the four winning songs in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969, this French classical ballad composed by Emil Stern and penned by Eddie Marnay describes the wonders of the world from a child’s perspective. Below are the song’s lyrics titled ”Through the Eyes of a Child” in English and the video of France’s representative to the said song contest Frida Boccara rendering it.

The wide eyes of a child look upon a world reborn

See the glory of a rose that never bears a thorn

The wide eyes of a child can invent a laughing moon

And the orange sun leaps high just as a floating toy balloon

He clearly sees the flower and the bird

Whose thoughts he knows without needing any word

And any child can hear ringing laughter from a stream

Hear the music of the heart, to us a half-forgotten dream

In sleep he hears the star’s distant song

Oh, may its wonder last for his whole life long

If we had vision too, as we stumble on our ways

We could sometimes see our days as through the eyes of a child

This song is reminiscent of two of my more memorable experience with the recent visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines, both happened during the Feast of the Holy Child. First is when I read the news about what happened during the Pope’s encounter with the youth at University of Santo Tomas that morning. He was moved to hug a tearful abandoned girl to comfort her after she asked why God allows children to become prostitutes. 12-year-old Glyzelle Palomar wept as she asked the Pope: “Many children get involved in drugs and prostitution. Why does God allow these things to happen to us? The children are not guilty of anything.” This question made me cry as she should have been protected in the first place but her innocence was already taken away. He was so touched by the girl’s appeal that he abandoned his pre-prepared speech in English and instead responded to the child in Spanish, his native language, and mentioned: “She is the only one who has put forward a question for which there is no answer and she was not even able to express it in words but rather in tears.”

The other one is during the concluding Eucharistic celebration held as Luneta Grandstand that afternoon. I participated as a member of the 1,000-voice choir. Pope Francis cited a verse from the Gospel that strikes me: “Whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it” (Mk 10:15). Known for his mercy and compassion, he stated that “God created the world as a beautiful garden and asked us to care for it”, which for me includes children. “But through sin,” he continued, “man has disfigured that natural beauty; through sin, man has also destroyed the unity and beauty of our human family, creating social structures which perpetuate poverty, ignorance and corruption.” Recognizing the child’s vulnerabilities, he said: “We too need to protect, guide and encourage our young people, helping them to build a society worthy of their great spiritual and cultural heritage. Specifically, we need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected. And we need to care for our young people, not allowing them to be robbed of hope and condemned to life on the streets.”

Now that children in today’s society are facing problems, ranging from parents’ authoritarian approach in raising them, to child labor and pedophilia that are prevalent in some areas, let us protect their rights for them to establish good self-identity and become productive citizens of this country.