There is a game i’ve been using to introduce the concept of virtues to children. First we talk about the good qualities that people can adorn their characters with – love, generosity, patience, courtesy, gentleness, tolerance, assertiveness, creativity, joyfulness – to name a few. In the baha’í faith, we believe these virtues are like gems of inestimable value, hidden within the heart of man, and through education they can be brought to light and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.
I ask the children to imagine all these beautiful virtues or spiritual qualities into a great big ball of light. Or, if the children (or children’s parents) believe in God, I instead ask them to imagine that God is like the sun and that all these beautiful virtues are encompassed within the brilliance of the sun. I then give them each a little mirror which I have previously covered in a dark watercolor paint and let dry. I tell them that this mirror is like our heart. We then proceed to try to reflect the light of the sun, or the nearest light bulb… We notice together that nothing is being reflected, the mirrors are too dirty. I then bring them damp paper-towels and we wipe them clean and try again, explaining to them that polishing the mirror is like practicing our virtues.
It is a very simple game, and helps introduce the sometimes cloudy and abstract notion of spiritual growth. We shortly discuss how cleaning the mirrors of our hearts is something everybody in the whole world works on their whole life, no matter how old they are or where they come from. Sometimes it can be really hard to clean certain spots, sometimes it can be really hard to wait our turn patiently, for example. However, the more we practice our virtues and the harder we try, the cleaner our mirrors get, and the more brilliantly our hearts can shine and reflect the light of this one sun that shines for all alike. And just like a flower has to turn to the sun to grow, we need to actually face our mirrors to the sun – we need to have the desire to reflect this light in the first place. Our spiritual growth suddenly becomes something completely within our power and relative to our effort, not something that randomly or magically happens.
Got any favorite games that entice or teach virtuous living? Post it in the comments!
