Our Planet

Text : Riho Yamazaki

Where does a child’s sense of “doing things for others” come from? This is the question that spurred Kogomi into action. Children teach each other how to put on their pants, cheer each other on, and use all the words they have at their disposal to communicate with the people around them. And what exactly do they say? For this project, we decided to make recordings and find out.
When talking with others, children piece together the words they know into phrases to get their point across. As I stood there, capturing their words with the voice recorder, I noticed a change in my own approach and attitude. From the perspective of an adult, I felt keenly aware of how the children’s words were being used and connected together. When I listened closely to their words—the whispers of their hearts—the urge to step in and do something melted away, allowing me to really take in what they were saying. By taking a step back and truly listening to their interactions, I was once again reminded of the wonderful world that can unfold without input from adults.
“I want to help you, so I’ll help you” is the very simple relationship governing children’s acts of helping each other. They want to help those who are near them, so that’s what they do. There’s no demand to be helped in return; I think it’s more of a symbiotic sense of “Once I satisfy my own needs, I’ll help you satisfy yours.” Maybe “doing things for others” stems from a desire to increase your own level of comfort; or maybe it comes from feelings that are more simple than adults think.