Children, Love And War Poem by Arun Maji

Children, Love And War



You may say there is no such thing called "all cure" or "panacea". But I would say- yes, there is one. And that is "LOVE".

I would explain this while I discuss the issue of stress and child development. I am sure- in the end, you will be convinced with my claim.

Stress is good, but not always. There is good stress and there is bad stress. Really? Yes.

When a child (or any life for that matter) is exposed to stress, he may have three different types of response.

1. Positive Stress Response- if stress is mild and brief; and the child has good support and love from parents (or parents like parsons): child will not only cope well with the stress but also- his physical and emotional growth will be stimulated.

Example of such brief and mild stress can be like- taking the child to new places like- to a park, to a shopping centre, to a relative's house etc. Any new kind of place or situation cause stress and anxiety to child; but if that situation is supported by parental love, the child does well.

2. Tolerable Stress Response- if a child is exposed to more severe and more prolonged stress (than former category) , and the child is supported well with parental love; then the child may cope ok, and the child may (or may not) suffer some sort of mild adversity. That adversity may or may not be detrimental in long run.

Example of such moderate stress could be- if a child suffers from prolonged medical illness or child is exposed to natural disaster etc.

3. Toxic Stress Response- if a child is exposed to more severe form of stress for long period of time, or repetitively; then it's really harmful. It's harmful both in short and long term. In short term the child will have fear, anger, loss of appetite and other emotional problems etc; but in long term the child will have poor growth of brain, physical body system and mind. The child later may develop heart disease, diabetes, immunological problems etc. The child may suffer from different mental health problems like depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorders etc.

Examples of such severe and prolonged stress could be- child physical abuse, child emotional abuse, child neglect, child in war/conflict affected areas (Syria, Sudan, Somalia etc) .

Jamal is a 4 years old little boy in a small town of Syria. His mother notices, he wakes up in the middle of night crying loud and gasping for air. And he does this almost every night. But at morning and during day time, he is almost fine. Except- he is quieter than before and keeps himself alone in corner of house.

So what has happened to him? This little boy was playing in a street, and there was a sudden bomb explosion in the street disfiguring and killing three other children. Two months after this incidence, this child developed such symptoms.

War kills. It kills lives not only by bullet or bomb; but also by injury it inflicts on mind of people. Children, civilians, military personnel all can have wounded soul from war and devastation.

Now tell me- how do you heal the wounded mind? By giving them love. How do you stop war and terrorism? By spreading more love. Why are you anxious or unhappy today? Because you fear something or somebody. How your anxious mind could be healed? You wish you are more loved and supported.

If you dig deep into all of your challenges, you will find primary cause is lack of love. All the challenges that humanity has today is result of lack of love. And how do we (truly) fix our challenges? By giving and receiving more love.

Think love, dream love, drink love. Love is you, your soul. Don't separate yourself from your soul. Be little more kind every moment, everyday. Tell me- what would happen in twenty years from now to those millions and millions of children exposed to war, conflict and natural disaster? If those children become angry killers, and threaten to annihilate this human existence, what would we do then?

Children, Love And War
Monday, March 13, 2017
Topic(s) of this poem: compassion,healing,kindness,love,mental illness,war,war and peace
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