World Children’s Day 20 November
Today I’m Taking Part in the Special Care Focus to Honor United Nations World Children’s Day
I answered the call to commit mind and heart to the well-being of children
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World Children’s Day on 20 November is UNICEF’s annual day of action for children. This year’s theme is,
For every child, every right
Children are the least-protected and most vulnerable beings in our world, subject to the consequences of events triggered by adults — us. From wars to climate change, hunger, abuse, to discrimination and everything in-between — they are innocent victims.
Today is an opportunity for youngsters to be heard — and we should listen to their ideas and demands.
I say a prayer at the end of my daily meditation. I send love, health, happiness and peace to all of humankind, but always extra for children who need it more.
First Draft
My plan to write an essay for World Children’s Day began with remembering a nursery rhyme from my childhood, Girls and Boys Come out to Play, and re-wrote the lyrics.
After I received the invite from HeartMath®, I was going to omit it but decided not to. It reflects my state of mind at the time, so I included the altered nursery rhyme.
Girls and boys can’t come and play
The sun it shines too hot today.
Had no supper and had no sleep
The bombs are loud and their mothers weep.
Come here for soup, love is our call
Come with a good will, you are so small.
Nothing bad here, no dividing walls.
We’ve plenty of rolls, will serve you all.
We’ll find milk, and we’ll find flour
To bake you fresh bread in half an hour.
What is the Special Care Focus?
Although this day is for children, by children, grown-ups should take part too.
If you are a meditator, you know the powerful influence on our planet of a large community coming together to focus our loving energy on any issue.
You can join the Special Care Focus any time on 20 November 2023 — an invitation from The HeartMath® Institute to Connect and Add Heart for Children Around the World.
I’ve provided the link here where you can choose to listen to or download the audio. (I chose the third option to download the PDF version because of my unreliable internet.)
Grown-ups can speak on behalf of those children who cannot
The five-year-old boy lies in the hospital bed. “Can we go for a walk now?”
“Let’s wait a while. The doctor will give you medicines to strengthen you first.”
The boy smiles.
His uncle wonders aloud to the Palestinian reporter how he’ll break the news to his nephew that he has no legs, no mother, no father.
This is a true story from Gaza which made me weep.
I felt helpless. No child anywhere in the world deserves to suffer harm.
I think also of the girls in Afghanistan who’ve been unable to attend secondary school or university since the Taliban took control in August 2021.
The schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria, the hidden genocide taking place in Sudan, the teenage boys from the Philippines trapped on Chinese fishing vessels as modern slave labor.
The children suffering from acute malnutrition in my own country.
The list seems endless — a frightening prospect.
I’m being proactive and uniting with others across the world to create a field of energy to open our hearts to love and compassion. I will continue to engage in this five-minute practice as part of my daily meditation routine.
“Young people are our future, and so many could use our care right now. When communities come together in the spirit of compassion for children everywhere, we resonate with the intelligence of our wise hearts that connects every individual across the continents and shows us how truly connected we are.” Sara Childre, President, HeartMath Institute.
Afterthought
Readers and writers in the US will celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday 23 November.
You’ll be gathering with family and friends to give thanks for the blessings in your life.
May your day be full of an abundance of grace, love and peace, and love. May its intensity overflow across the entire world and give hope to every child, no matter who or where they are.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I leave you with this beautiful version of Teach your Children performed in Brazil
Children are the future. Let’s play our part in making it happy, prosperous and peaceful for them. We are one family — the human race.
Thank you for being here.
