By Jessica Mycelia Harris
One of the more boring things to endure when you become a parent, is the kids shows and goofy songs, until you start paying attention to them. How profound they are, and yet, how quickly their values fade under the glamour of commercialism, science and religious truth.
The early years are all about learning to share, being honest, about how great God and life and love are, friendships and having a good time. From where I stand, reviving innocence once lost, my hope is that as industrial and economic participants in a global family, we will learn to pull our heads out of the proverbial butt of pop culture and religious superstition, and redefine the stories we tell and are told. The power of our thoughts and language create our belief systems, hence, our external reality. I think a huge many of us are ready to instill the visionary values of a peaceful and cooperative world: the very things which are featured in the stories and media for little kids!
Once past the picture books of animals, alphabets, colors and numbers, potty books and brushing teeth, and the sweet little kid shows, the content shifts rapidly into themes of mean kids versus nice kids, violent superheroes and mutant saviors, sexy protagonists and moralizing might against might. As is starts to get more complicated, the big question is, how have we as adults dealt with these themes, and are we able to redefine life as it presents itself, in a unique and visionary context?
We can't afford to be passive about what's coming through the media or the culture. In the tiny window of programming before the mature content hits, kids can also trust the adults. How quickly does this all change, and how insidious are the messages of sexism, oppression, consumerism, and the all over, overt violence that dominates our media and culture. Have you ever wondered why it's called programming? Like programming our minds, it is indoctrination.
Recently, during an early morning Blue's Clues episode, the Nickelodeon station ID was a cartooned Marilyn Monroe-like Statue of Liberty, holding her book and light, when from nowhere the notorious gust of wind blew little Monroe of Liberty's dress up and exposed her vulnerability and panties, as she coyly batted her eyes with a seductive smile. And this, for our one and two year olds! Hmmm, maybe they are right in not trusting us as their awareness grows. Are we really being honest? After all, we were primed by the same pump. Or how about a recent Power Puff Girls episode where guest heroine Wonder Woman is made to feel ashamed of her breasts? Have we learned to be authentic? Are these the myths we want to continue with, to define who we are?
I don't even have a TV, but do catch it at others' houses. Perhaps that is why I noticed the station ID at all. And it impressed upon me that I can't hide my kid from the world, nor can I change it, per se (old myth). But I can't just idly watch and let it be. I can do "other than" (new myth!). I won't wreck her Blue's Clue's experience, but I will teach her of her sacred body as we both learn to revere and respect ourselves and others.
"Other than" is a powerful new myth which allows the teller and recipient to experience anything other than what seems apparent. Try it. Compare "I'm feeling anxious about..." with "I'm feeling other than, about.." Did you notice the subtle difference in the way you felt? One of the tools for shifting consciousness is breaking the attachments to the emotional fields.
Babies and kids are people, whole and complete, with different skills and focus than grown ups (new myth). They have the same urges to explore, experience, and make choices that the rest of us do. Sometimes we may need to protect them from themselves (or the dangerous world we've created) but that should be the exception, not the rule (new myth). If they can understand "baba" (bottle), then they can understand "poison", and understand that it's something to stay away from. It's a gradual process, but respect their intelligence from day one and hold on for the intellectual ride of your life, as your kid helps free your mind from what you think you know. New myth: toxic substances are completely unnecessary.
Developing wisdom and healthy choices go hand in hand as experience and learning progress. Our kids are the future. If we want a better world for them to be in, we are wise to step out of the way and open up to the visionary perspectives which are on our horizon.
Also, if we can psychologically divorce our current, highly paranoid ideas of safety, we can say goodbye to the economic ball and chains of insurance, litigation and check-ups.
When our kids become afraid, tell them of the hero/heroine's journey they are on and go with them on that journey, to help you both explore the primal patterns that have created our insecure world, and break out of it! Our job is not to explain everything to them, or to make everything OK (old myth). It is to empower them to figure things out for themselves and to have the courage to keep shining their light in the world. Since most of us weren't raised that way, growing this way with our children will only make our positive effect on the world synergistically stronger. So, while we raise our kids hoping that they will be the empowered, shiny persons that they (and we) were born to be, don't forget the stories we currently live by, and the sugar-coated hall of mirrors we are led down as soon as it can hold our attention.
How about these new myths: all wealth and resources are being evenly distributed in the world and those in need are being addressed now, as we shift our senses to an egalitarian model of future prosperity for all. Or, I am grateful to have a vehicle and yet endeavor to walk, bike, utilize public transportation, or use other alternatives while supporting alternative technology in any way I can, because I care deeply about my world. I like this one: There are no adults making trashy, moralizing programming for kids - kids program for kids. The media is a free-market participatory activity, not a passivity, accessible to all. Genetically modified high fructose corn syrup has been replaced with organically grown Agave nectar and brown rice syrup, in fact fructose and sucrose makes us all cheer, "down with bad food ideas!" There's so many myths waiting to be born. Invest your mind and heart in some today!