Children and the 5 Elements

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Mantrik
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Children and the 5 Elements

Post by Mantrik »

I don't know why this hasn't occurred to me on my travels, but I was shown a video of kids in India attending a puja and it suddently struck me - children in the UK may not ever have been in contact with the Elements in any meaningful way, in a celebratory and joyful way.

Water? Sure, they will experience water...........but in the wild?
I am eternally grateful to the teacher who, when I was 5, took the whole class out of school into a field to experience a torrential thunderstorm. Not one parent complained, let alone sued.

Fire? Many homes have none, or a gas fire or cooker. Maybe a November 5th bonfire if lucky. Help them build fires, burn incense, play with candles, cook on a fire in a field and not some firkin instant BBQ in the garden.

Earth? Well, my psychologist father always said a dirty kid was much more likely to be well-balanced. How many kids get to dig and plant, play and make pottery from real mud.

Air? Mostly polluted city foulness. Wind is what we hide from in our buildings.

Space? Well, we aren't blessed with clear skies often in the UK but even some feeling for the vastness of the planet would be an improvement on being locked into gazing at a screen. Take the kids up a mountain or just out away from the city.

Let's add animals to that list - wild animals.

OK, I get the perspective - some kids in the world are starving etc. But we are really firkin up the ones closest to us if we don't expose them to some time experiencing a focus on the 5 Elements.

Sorry to rant, but it seems so many kids are deprived of what to me matters most.
http://www.khyung.com ཁྲོཾ

Om Thathpurushaya Vidhmahe
Suvarna Pakshaya Dheemahe
Thanno Garuda Prachodayath

Micchāmi Dukkaḍaṃ (मिच्छामि दुक्कडम्)
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Lobsang Chojor
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Re: Children and the 5 Elements

Post by Lobsang Chojor »

I agree. I always feel better when I’m outdoors in nature compared to in a city.

I’m lucky that my degree, geology, has a large fieldwork component so I get to spend lots of time in nature. In September I was up on the Isle of Skye and loved everyday outside, even in sideways rain, in fact I found being on the most exposed area during the storm rather fun :tongue:

I’ve also been so lucky that my parents encouraged me to spend time in nature and make fires which so many miss out on.
"Morality does not become pure unless darkness is dispelled by the light of wisdom"
  • Aryasura, Paramitasamasa 6.5
ༀ་ཨ་ར་པ་ཙ་ན་དྷཱི༔ Oṃ A Ra Pa Ca Na Dhīḥ
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Mantrik
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Re: Children and the 5 Elements

Post by Mantrik »

Lobsang Chojor wrote: Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:28 am I agree. I always feel better when I’m outdoors in nature compared to in a city.

I’m lucky that my degree, geology, has a large fieldwork component so I get to spend lots of time in nature. In September I was up on the Isle of Skye and loved everyday outside, even in sideways rain, in fact I found being on the most exposed area during the storm rather fun :tongue:

I’ve also been so lucky that my parents encouraged me to spend time in nature and make fires which so many miss out on.
I love storms, all kinds. :)

I was once recruiting for UK universities in India and noticed that Plymouth had (maybe still has) a Masters in Coastal Erosion. What an amazing job that could lead to in some really wild settings.
http://www.khyung.com ཁྲོཾ

Om Thathpurushaya Vidhmahe
Suvarna Pakshaya Dheemahe
Thanno Garuda Prachodayath

Micchāmi Dukkaḍaṃ (मिच्छामि दुक्कडम्)
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Dan74
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Re: Children and the 5 Elements

Post by Dan74 »

Mantrik wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 8:14 pm I don't know why this hasn't occurred to me on my travels, but I was shown a video of kids in India attending a puja and it suddently struck me - children in the UK may not ever have been in contact with the Elements in any meaningful way, in a celebratory and joyful way.

Water? Sure, they will experience water...........but in the wild?
I am eternally grateful to the teacher who, when I was 5, took the whole class out of school into a field to experience a torrential thunderstorm. Not one parent complained, let alone sued.

Fire? Many homes have none, or a gas fire or cooker. Maybe a November 5th bonfire if lucky. Help them build fires, burn incense, play with candles, cook on a fire in a field and not some firkin instant BBQ in the garden.

Earth? Well, my psychologist father always said a dirty kid was much more likely to be well-balanced. How many kids get to dig and plant, play and make pottery from real mud.

Air? Mostly polluted city foulness. Wind is what we hide from in our buildings.

Space? Well, we aren't blessed with clear skies often in the UK but even some feeling for the vastness of the planet would be an improvement on being locked into gazing at a screen. Take the kids up a mountain or just out away from the city.

Let's add animals to that list - wild animals.

OK, I get the perspective - some kids in the world are starving etc. But we are really firkin up the ones closest to us if we don't expose them to some time experiencing a focus on the 5 Elements.

Sorry to rant, but it seems so many kids are deprived of what to me matters most.
:good:

More exposure and engagement with the elements is the best mental illness prevention, IMO.
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Lobsang Chojor
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Re: Children and the 5 Elements

Post by Lobsang Chojor »

Mantrik wrote: Thu Oct 18, 2018 8:44 amWhat an amazing job that could lead to in some really wild settings.
I'd imagine that would take you some amazing wild settings.
Dan74 wrote: Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:52 amMore exposure and engagement with the elements is the best mental illness prevention, IMO.
:good:
"Morality does not become pure unless darkness is dispelled by the light of wisdom"
  • Aryasura, Paramitasamasa 6.5
ༀ་ཨ་ར་པ་ཙ་ན་དྷཱི༔ Oṃ A Ra Pa Ca Na Dhīḥ
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