"Out of the mouths of babes..." we like to say.
(Here's one of Zach's from many years ago.)
However, whatever wisdom is expressed by children typically comes from their complete innocence.
That is, the wisdom does not reside in the child speaking, but rather in the adult who hears the speaking.
(Corollary: if a child utters some astute observation and no-one hears it, it probably ain't a wisdom!)
The wisdom of an adolescent is a bit different. It is a quirky blend of innocence and emergent wisdom. Here's some examples from Zach.
A solo journey up the creek becomes a test of Zach's resolve - and he passes. Just!
On our annual dads and kids camp in December, I set off with another bloke, Josh, for a hike along a trail that runs on the ocean side of Jerusalem Creek for about four kilometres. The creek runs from Blackrocks campgrounds parallel to the shore to an exit to the ocean some four or more kilometres to the north. The hike is along a wide tongue of land with creek to the left and ocean to the right.
I left Zach with the other dads and a bunch of kids jumping off trees, swinging from a rope, and paddling around in the on surfboards and kayaks.
Josh and I eventually reached the end of the trail at the point where the creek met the ocean. There was a wide sandbar preventing the creek from flowing out into the ocean. After exploring around the creek mouth, we walked back along the through the "black rocks" (more like coffee in both colour and in consistency as it is a soft, sedimentary rock).
Back at the campground, everyone was back.
Well, everyone except Zach.
"Out of the mouths of babes..." we like to say.
