“Experiencing the Totality of Existence”
The unnamed is the beginning of Heaven and earth, the named is the mother of the myriad phenomena.
無名天地之始; 有名萬物之母。
Before children learn to speak, they experience the world as a unified, nameless phenomenon. Once names and labels are introduced to them, they begin to wade into a world of distinctions and contradictions that does not always make sense to them. While some distinctions are necessary to ensure a child’s safety, many are not the result of their experiences but our own biases. Indeed, a child’s response to an unforeseen event, a scrape or bruise, may often be dictated by their parent’s response; is the child a victim or is the bruise a learning experience or badge of accomplishment to be worn proudly? Sometimes, parents unwittingly instill their fears, prejudices, and biases in their children, such as a fear of dogs or a dislike of vegetables. As a parent, we must allow them to make their own distinctions while keeping them in tune with the broader totality underlying all of human experience. We must avoid the temptation to try and make our children into littler versions of ourselves if they are ever to learn who they are.
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