Close your eyes (but then open them so you can see the text in front of you).
Imagine you are a small child again.
Gradually imagine all the people you have loved. How you were close to them and wished for their happiness, that only good things would happen to them. Can you feel what you felt?
Imagine the world. Its beauty that entered you. The opportunities for adventure it opened.
Look into your child's heart, which longed for all that is good, true, beautiful, and kind. Everything evil, unfair, and false seems crooked.
Now imagine that a great person is coming to you. And as they get closer, you realize that it is you yourself in the present day. You are looking at yourself, up, and you know everything about yourself. Absolutely everything. You perceive through your child’s eyes what you have become over time. You see what you had to give up, what hurt you, and withdrew, all the benefits that even a slight deviation from the path of good, hope, and love brought. What does the child say to you? What do you say to the child? What questions does the child ask, and what do you respond? Do the words naïve, unrealistic, childish ring out? Imagine the joy and immense excitement of suddenly being able to do everything you want as a child because you are already grown up! And imagine the joy that, as adults, you can start doing everything you dreamed of as children. Naïve? Unrealistic? Childish?
Take this child, place them in the middle, and say together with Jesus Christ: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me” (Mt 18:5). So we can naively start to desire a good, beautiful, and loving world again. And we can also make these dreams come true. With childlike joy and a pure heart. With faith in Jesus Christ, it is no longer naïve, unrealistic, or childish. This child can lead us into the Kingdom of God.
It is our childlike heart that believes in miracles and understands the fairytale legends of the saints. It rejoices and dances without a known reason. It is the place where the Holy Spirit speaks when our reason betrays us. The place where God offers hope when no one else sees it yet. The childlike heart knows that the world was not created just so, and is the first willing to believe that the living God walked on this earth.
Viktor Mikeš
