To see from a baby’s eyes.

I was captivated when I saw this video of 10-month-old Mary Lynne Leroux listening to her mother sing My Heart Can’t Tell You No to her.

The magnitude of this baby’s response to her mother’s performance is certainly thought-provoking. What is the baby responding to and what is the depth of understanding?

Is little Mary responding to her mother’s facial expressions and verbal cues, or is something much deeper going on that we can’t fully access, even as it mesmerizes us? I can’t help but think of Aristotle’s quote, about the breathtaking and fragile beauty all around us, tinged by the suffering we all face as humans, as perception and knowledge teach us about things like impermanence and loss.

“To perceive is to suffer.”  ~ Aristotle

This dance between enthrallment and beauty and suffering is encapsulated so well in this video, in this tiny human’s gorgeous reaction.

However, these thoughts are imposed by our adult mind.

Before thought, we have feelings, those original seeds that inspire all thought and action. Thinking takes a backseat while watching this video, much like Mary’s response to her mother is pre-thought. Just as the baby is riveted and moved to wild and gentle extremes by a beautifully-sung song, we are drawn right into the baby’s world as it is mapped onto her face. And we can find so much there to relate to.

The power of art and expression to move us and forge human connection is inspiring.

The power of connection is the power that drives us and our universe.

The power of empathy can and will change the world.

Relephant read:

Mirror Neurons & Empathy: Experiencing Another’s Inner World with Clarity instead of Fear.

 

Author: Tammy Stone

Editor: Ashleigh Hitchcock

Photos: video still