Arthur Ashe became a brilliant tennis player and an ardent civil rights activist because of a question. He was seven years old and sitting in a park in Richmond, Virginia, watching an accomplished black tennis player named Ron Charity practice. Ashe’s father was a park supervisor and often left his son to entertain himself while he worked. After about an hour, Ron Charity took a break and walked over to the boy. “Would you like to learn how to play?” he said kindly. With that simple, generous question, Ashe and the game of tennis were changed forever.
“As casually as that,” Ashe reflected, “my life was transformed.” How many lives have been changed in similar ways? Because an adult took the time to notice the interest of a child, had the patience to introduce them to something, was willing to teach them a skill or a trade? Of course, we cannot rely solely on the kindness of strangers. It’s our job as parents to take the time to do this for our kids. We have to cultivate that flicker of curiosity into full-blown love affairs, we have to channel their energy into productive pursuits. We have to teach them stuff.
Especially the things they’re too afraid to ask about, or don’t even know to ask about. Often, that is where the magic resides.