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.”