u/Deb_swain

Video captured by @jdaniel_photography on IG. Source.

There’s a beautiful scene in “Young Sheldon” where his philosophy teacher tells the class an old story about the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi.

He once dreamed that he was a butterfly, happily flying around, completely unaware of being Zhuangzi. Then he woke up and wondered Was I Zhuangzi dreaming that I was a butterfly, or am I a butterfly now dreaming that I am Zhuangzi?

Sheldon immediately finds it ridiculous. Obviously he is awake. Obviously he knows who he is. But then comes the dangerous little question philosophy loves to throw at our certainties .. How do you know? After all, while dreaming, don’t we often feel equally certain that what is happening is real?

For me, the interesting part isn’t whether life is literally a dream. It’s how easily we say “I know.”
I know who I am. I know what will make me happy. I know what kind of career I need. I know what relationships should look like. I know what success means. But how much of this have I actually examined, and how much came from family, society, memory, fear and conditioning?

Yeah surely don’t need to doubt everything.
But every once in a while, it might be worth becoming Sheldon in that classroom and asking this
Wait… how do I actually know this?

I recently got Acharya Prashant’s children’s book “Tree” and honestly, I didn’t expect my child to connect with it this much.

He loves the pictures and keeps going back to them. But what I find more beautiful is that he is slowly beginning to understand something very simple: a tree isn’t just something standing outside our window. It gives us so much and it is also home to birds, insects and other animals.

Now when we talk about cutting trees, he understands that it isn’t just about losing a piece of wood. Something living is lost and many other beings lose their home too. He has become obsessed with nest and keeps searching for it in every tree.

I think this kind of sensitivity is much more valuable than giving children lectures about “saving the environment.” I personally think it’s important to let children develop this connection before nature becomes just another topic in a textbook.

We spend so much time thinking about our children’s education, school, career and future. But what kind of future are we preparing them for if the world around them keeps losing its trees, wildlife, clean air and natural spaces?

Has anyone else tried AP’s books with their children?

I'd like to say I planned this shot, but I'm not that smart.

Edit: based on the time of the photo, this would have been flight BA8466 from Ibiza

From Zen Koans and Sufi Parables to Graeco-Roman Wisdom and Chuang Tzu’s poetry the ultimate collection of world wisdom is here!

‘Gems from the World’ by Acharya Prashant.

Are you excited to read it?

This phos is taken by me last week..

My son sometimes watch the children’s cartoon series. In one episode, a baby pony comes happily toward the child and seems to invite the child to sit and ride. It is shown as cute, gentle, and fun.

While watching with him, I suddenly wondered, what is my child learning about animals from scenes like this? Not because the show is trying to be cruel, but because children absorb messages before they can question them.

If animals are repeatedly shown as smiling while being ridden, kept in zoos, or used for our amusement, a child may quietly learn that animals naturally exist for human use.

What if children’s stories also showed another side? A child noticing that the pony gets tired. A child asking whether the pony wants to be ridden. A child feeding, caring for, or simply observing the animal without using it.

Children learn kindness less from lectures and more from the questions we ask while sitting beside them.

I’d genuinely love to hear from others on my perspective.

This photo is taken by me when visited a wild park today..

Is democracy weakened more by bad politicians or by citizens who stop questioning?

These kind of Waterplay parks are really fun for kids in the summer .. Amazing