Why is it so easy to empathise with and have compassion for a child, but not another adult? As a parent of young children, this is something that will often play on my mind, that I would intuitively help any child, but would I do the same for anyone of my own age?

Think of riding a bike, if a child is wobbling all over the place you may get annoyed, but ultimately give them the benefit of the doubt - perhaps they have just learnt - but, if an adult is doing the same, it may well spark an aggressive, angry response. Part of the reason for this is that we do not usually see children as a threat, therefore we find it easy to treat them with compassion and care. Other adults, on the other hand, we can create a thousand reasons why they are wrong, an idiot, or some other reason for their deserving our ire, particularly if they are strangers.

Feeling threatened is rooted in fear, part of our survival instinct. From the dark hat of fear you can pull all of the related, negative emotions: anger, hate, paralysis, aggression, flight etc - all are tools to help us survive in a world that is in constant flux. But we often use the wrong tool for the job, like taking a hammer to a screw and trying to beat it into the wall. Using the wrong tool is a symptom of not being in harmony with the world around you, not being able to see its nuance and subtlety, and learning how to use the correct ones is an ongoing process that unfolds over the course of our lives. The more someone is able to harmonise with their surroundings and the people around them, the more they have freedom to choose their reactions, and act appropriately in any given situation with ease. Actively working on this process is the art of developing wisdom.

We are all on the path from innocence to maturity, and we all encounter different stumbling blocks along the way, we get stuck at different points and choose different routes. There is no adult and child, there is just a continuum of this experience.

I’ll try and remember this when the next person cuts in front of me on the motorway…