Thanks for joining me for another edition of the SerenityThroughSweat blog. This week I want to talk about an indescribable quality, a certain je ne sais quoi, that is a child first learning to walk.
Je ne sais quoi is a French phrase that is a used for “a pleasant quality that is hard to describe”. Literally translated, it means “I don’t know what”.
The first time I remember it being used was in a Sonic commercial for boneless wings. One guy says the wings are going to help him out with the ladies as his wingman, to which the other replies, “oh they’re going to give you that, je ne sais quoi?”. “Wait what did Jenna say, did she mention me by name?” Go back and give it a watch, it is still just as hilarious.
That hard to describe pleasant quality can mean a lot of different things based on the context. As Speedy is starting to test his legs walking, I struggled to come up with the right words to describe his (and every other child learning to walk) demeanor.
Perseverance, determination, discipline, there are plenty of words that come to mind when we don’t give up in the face of a challenge that we have deemed worthy of our time and energy.
Learning to walk obviously fits that description, but there is something different about a child’s approach to the particular learning process of walking for the first time.
Walking is an innate human ability, and thanks to modern medicine we can see examples of adults learning to walk again after some form of trauma. However, the approach is significantly different from that of a child learning for the first time.
Discipline doesn’t really apply because babies don’t have a regimen when it comes to learning to walk. Sure there are some things they try before taking those first steps (walking toys or pushing chairs, and pulling themselves up on furniture,) but those are organic experiments more than organized plans towards a desired goal.
Perseverance is perhaps a little more apt, but still misses the mark. Most kids will pull themselves up on a surface, fall in an attempt to walk, and then appear to lose interest and revert to crawling, only to appear inspired anew in a few minutes. Is it really perseverance if it appears to be a first attempt every attempt, or if you seem to lose interest and the regain it on an apparent whim?
There is perseverance, determination, and discipline. There is pain, frustration, eventually triumph, and a slew of other emotions along the way. Still there is a innocent, indescribable, pleasant quality, a je ne sais quoi, about a child learning to walk that is inspiring.
As adults we encourage each other to take “baby steps” when learning something new. I always assumed this meant small, measured, slightly nervous steps, like, you know, a baby takes. Maybe I’ve been looking at it all wrong. Maybe that je ne sais quoi of a child’s learning is less about unsure legs and more about being undeterred in the face of upright mobility, and approaching the challenge organically when the body and mind are ready.
I still can’t quite put my finger on what exactly it is. But, if we all continue to learn into adulthood, the way a child learns to walk, with that certain je ne sais quoi, we’ll all be that much closer to serenity.
Thanks for joining me, stay safe and stay sweaty my friends.
