Wisdom passes not only from the elder, the Grand parent, but from the child to the Elder.
Trent, our eldest grandson, at age 7, a second grader, when he visits, we have homework to do. Last night it was reading aloud a wonderful story by Mary Pope Osborne from Monday with a Mad Genius. The children in the story, Annie and Jack, “with imagination (that) can make life a wondrous adventure…(seek)
Leonardo da Vinci, one of the world’s greatest geniuses. (He) was a lot like a kid who never grew up. Even when working he seemed to be playing and asking; ‘I wonder what would happen if….”
Annie and Jack set out to find Leonardo Da Vinci, the mad genius, to find the secret of happiness. They have a magic wand; it is how they travel back to Florence to meet with Leonardo. Their wand, the Wand of Dianthus, has three rules: “You can only use it for the good of others. You can only use it after you have tried your hardest. And you can only use it with a command of five words.”
Grandpa Gary thinks those are the five magic words of wisdom, “Tell me about your (self, cares, loves). In the hair salon it was ‘tell me about your hair, and it means I am interested about you and want you to share what is important.
Upon finding Leonardo, the magic wand, or their conscience, told Annie and Jack to spend the whole day helping Leonardo.
When they first met Leonardo, Jack asked, “What is the secret of happiness?”
“Fame” replied Leonardo, “Now that I am famous everyone smiles at me.”
Grandpa Gary thinks fame is fleeting, and in the story it is. Leonardo has a series of failures with a fresco that does not dry.
The fire he starts to help it dry, smokes over the colors. Leonardo goes into a funk, feeling his failure does not mix with fame. He rushes home not to be seen and indulges in his funk.
“If I felt that bad, I wouldn’t want people to bother me,” Annie said.
But Jack was quick to respond, “Not bother, help.”
I wondered which one of these would I choose, help or hide?
It seems many friends when it looks like failure, when sunk in the funk, they stay stunk without a deodorizer, and do not ask for help.
Annie and Jack have the wisdom of children and they know that “a great artist has to combine observation with imagination.”
When they visit Leonardo’s with helping hands and a bite to eat, they help Leonardo find the true “secret of happiness.”
“Curiosity is the secret,” says Leonardo. “Always ask questions. Always learn something new. Ask: Why? When?
Where? I wonder what this means. I wonder how that works…. I am always searching for answers to things I do not understand.”
Leonardo, one of the greatest geniuses, knows that it is the questions that control our happiness. It is to be as curious as a child.
Grandpa Gary asks; how can children be so wise?
