Jing and I agreed to meet at Glorietta yesterday. While waiting for her, I decided to do one of my favorite activities, people-watching. I have always been interested in observing people and catching a glimpse of their lives. Public places like malls are the perfect venues to people-watch. So I sat down on a bench and looked at the passersby. However, I uncharacteristically got bored only after a few minutes. I have seen too much bickering couples, yuppies in suits, and shopaholics loaded with shopping bags that they have already become boring to me. I got up and walked. I walked and walked until I saw a playground (the Little Tikes set at the middle of Glorietta, near the fountains). I got drawn to it and to the kids. With regular people-watching failing to amuse me, I went little people-watching instead.

There were two little girls (who looked like sisters) in pretty little dresses. They blew bubbles from a PowerPuff bubble blower and danced around. I could imagine them as little fairies blowing magical bubbles in Fairyland. I wanted to join their secret sacred dance and blow bubbles all around.

There was also a young boy who liked playing with other kids. I am guessing that he is an only child. His dad fetched him and told him they can go to Timezone instead. I think the dad was worried about leaving his son with many other little boys and girls in a crowded play place. Given the choice between Timezone with all its gaming machines and only ropes, a slide, and a pole at the play place but with many playmates, the kid chose the play place. He tugged on his dad's shirt when they were going to leave. The dad finally gave in. I was touched by what the little boy did. He knew the things that truly mattered in life, people and happiness.

Finally, I observed cousins, a boy around eight and another around five. I know that they are cousins based from the conversation of their yayas. (Yeah, I eavesdropped but that is part of people-watching.) The dad of the older boy bought him a cookie, a big Mrs. Fields cookie. Even without the younger one asking, the kuya immediately broke the cookie in half and shared it with his cousin. Aaawww!

I have always loved kids. I loved them even more upon watching those girls, that boy, and those cousins. We adults think that it is us, and only us, who can teach the younger ones since we are supposedly the more knowledgeable and the more experienced ones. We need to open up our minds and our hearts. Kids can teach us a few things too if we take time and let them. In the short time that I was little people-watching, those kids taught me some very valuable lessons. I guess there are just some things about life that only those with innocence and simplicity can truly and fully understand. The little people can be the 'bigger people' sometimes. After all, this adult world is nothing but a more complicated version of child's play.

Whenever the world gets crazy and things are hard to understand, I feel the urge to just go out and play. Perhaps, like when I was a kid, it would take the pain and the sadness away.