Once upon a time somebody posed me a question:

“Do you think Human beings are innately good or evil?” Obviously they are a bit of both. People can do wonderful and horrible things. We are shocked when someone commits a horrible atrocity like skinning baby’s, but we are (possibly equally?) shocked when someone commits an amazing act of kindness or bravery, like throwing themselves in line of fire to save a comrade. But do we perfectly straddle the line between good and evil, are we half and half? I don’t think so. You can tell an Apple Tree because it gives apples. So I’ve been looking at the fruits of humanity. And I’ve cast my idealistic eighteen year old opinion. Humans are evil by nature.

Why are people tempted to steal? To over indulge in every affluence? To hoard selfishly? Why aren’t we tempted to give to the poor, to complement strangers? Why aren’t we tempted to go to church, or a peace rally, or school? It is because human nature is slanted in the favor of evil. If we all followed our desires without consideration for others we would have hell on earth.

So what is it that stops us from following our dark natures? I don’t believe humans were designed to be evil. I think we were designed to be perfect and good and powerful and creative and peaceful and loving. As a Christian i believe in the fall from grace. As a Rhys I believe children are born as perfect as they are ever going to get, and i see the fall from grace being reenacted in every humans life. Its a personal theory of mine that God created Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden as children. Thats the way most people start off. I don’t know where this assumption arose that Adam and Eve were born as adults. this seems a bit twisted and unnatural to me. When they grew older, they would have plucked the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil (figurative or literal it doesn’t matter). Every human life echo’s that of Adam and Eve. Shame of nudity and lieing were the first signs of sin. Children dont realize they are naked, they don’t know how to lie and they don’t have knowledge of good and evil… until they begin to experience their own personal fall from grace. As they nibble on their own little apple. You can see it happening in front of you as they slowly slip into the dritty quagmire of humanity, one toe at a time.

Mattew 18:2-4 “He called a little child and had him stand among them and he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”.

The sacred nature of childhood is a topic i am almost obsessed with. I’m fascinated by children. They are little windows into the way we should be. This whole concept has heavily influenced my book Jac and the Wild Children, which I am planning to have written out by the end of next year.The whole piece centers around the theme: “Utopia sleeps in the hearts of our children”.