The day my daughter called another child a goat

It was a beautiful Sunday morning. My daughter and I were jamming to our favourite songs in the car as I drove to church. I spotted a herd of goats running very fast by the side of the road. It was a beautiful sight. I called her attention to it and she was also fascinated and then we both forgot about it.

Our church has a very beautiful scenery, you can't help but take pictures of yourself, so as is our custom, I asked her to pose while I clicked away on my phone. Suddenly her attention drifted away. She was looking at this girl who was running towards us very fast. And then she said 'Mummy see this girl running like a goat. She is a goat' I almost passed out from embarrassment. Some people overheard and gave us the judgmental look. How do I begin to explain that she's only transferring knowledge from one situation (few minutes earlier when we saw a herd of goats running)to another situation(innocent girl running on her own). In this case, we had a negative transfer of knowledge where previous knowledge affected the performance in a new event. Simply put, she saw a goat running fast and so anybody that runs fast is a goat to her. Her mind had drawn a relationship between goat and running. Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development actually groups 2-7 year olds in a stage called 'pre-operational'. At this stage, they have a problem with classification. They may refer to all fruits as mango because they know mango is a fruit, so every fruit is a mango.

How do I even begin to explain this mumbo jumbo to these people staring at us. I tried to scold Nifemi even though I UNDERSTOOD she did not mean to insult the child. She got upset and started rolling on the floor and crying and kept saying 'but she was running like a goat.' I was further embarrassed and decided to let it go and let them think what they wanted.

ONE situation viewed differently. In my journey in life, I have learnt that things are not always how they seem. Nothing means anything except the meaning you give to it. How do YOU choose to see life?

Some people saw my child as disrespectful but I saw someone merely conforming to the stages of cognitive development. Do not be boxed in the boundary conditions of your thinking (Albert Einsten). Be open to change. Be willing to listen to the other side of the story. Be open to believe that there can be another ending. Believe that there is a better side. There are always two or more ways to look at a situation. Do not self sabotage. Yes, you do not look like it now and may perhaps already be written off by people. Flip the coin and see how God is using your ruins for a testimony. People may see failure but choose to see feedback.

Very importantly, you have no control on how people choose to view your situation but you have control over what you allow into your space. Irrespective of the situation, always choose positive vibes only and know that ALL things are working out for your good. Do not allow someone else's warped mentality control you. There are two options; life and death. I choose to see life where others see death. The power to choose lies with me.

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue...” – Proverbs 18:21

Love and light always,

Love.

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