On the 4th of June 2011 I became a mother of Isaak. Ever since he is born he has been teaching me and I noticed that I have been a poor learner at times but willingly picking up what I can.
All of a sudden all the books on cognitive learning, child evolution and so on fall into pieces. As always learning can only really happen when doing and ... from this time onward (if all the gods and sciences are willing) I will do it for the rest of this life thanks to this new life.
I had never imagined that all of a sudden my ways of handling and taking care of the baby connects me not only to my deeper self, but also to my forefathers and -mothers, my peers and friends. In my actions I see and feel all of them, as if time is willing to lift up its veil for a moment and show me timelessness in Isaak's eyes.
In his short life, I have been overheating him, under-cooling him, giving him not enough food, changing his diapers in ways he clearly stated was not the right way (apparently not to be used as a turban, nor low hanging skirt). On many occasions I simply looked at him with a startled face not knowing what to do. Time and time again he showed me what to do with basic feedback of cries and gestures, oh yes immediate feedback is important.
This learning cannot be done on my own and there is no formal training. Parenthood is clearly learned informally and luckily it happens in collaboration with other, more experienced people who are willing to share what they know.
It is startling to see how all learning follows the same paths. We probably could make a unified learning theory?
So within two weeks Isaak taught me that in life we will always stay learners, and that a network of friends, family, connections will help each and everyone of us to find solutions enabling us to live a better life. I am humbled by his simplicity and the universal aspect of life and learning at every stage in our lives. And although people say babies learn the most, I feel they teach us even more.
For those who wonder, Isaak is doing well despite my rather poor parenting skills, and he laughs at my feeble baby wisdom that I got out of books. His name actually means 'he laughs', and ... it fits him.
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