Ever notice how we remember people at a certain point in their life? We remember them looking a certain way, having a certain style, acting with certain mannerisms. When you think of someone, do you remember them most at a certain age? I often associate one particular photo with that person. That's how they look to me, forever and into eternity. Any other photos may depict them in my mind's eye as "younger" or "older" or "skinnier," but this only one photo defines how they are forever etched in my memory. Maybe it's because they'd had that look the longest, or maybe it's the phase of life during which I had most often interacted with them.
Think of Om Kulthoum for example: we always think of her as this legendary, more mature, iconic songstress. Yet, there was the very young version of Om Kulthoum, and we even have seen photos of that chapter of her life. Still, when we think of her, only one stage of life comes immediately to mind.
Think of Einstein: that older scientist with the crazy hair and childishly wild eyes. He was once a boy, and then a young man, who may have had a crush on someone, or tripped over his own steps. But the man we know and is forever "Einstein" to us is an older genius of our world.
At the other end of the spectrum we have the "Gerber Baby." Did you know that Ann Cook, who was the model for the Gerber baby in 1927, grew up to raise 4 children of her own, teach literature and writing, and go on to write two novels? You don't know her, but what stage of her life, what photo at what time was snapped of her that defined her forever to those who knew her?
Although we go through so many chapters in our lives, there often comes a moment when we look up and say: "This is me." We mature. We become defined. Maybe we stay at that stage the longest. Maybe it's the most comfortable of existences. Maybe our evolution slows down for a second, long enough for us to notice the change. Or maybe we lose that spark of inspiration, hope and outlook into the future that once allowed us to say: "When I grow up, I want to be…." Perhaps that's why only One could confidently, happily, and in every sense of the word say: "I Am." Perhaps, that why we should all become once more like children.
