DO YOU BELIEVE IN OLD SOULS?

Does this face look like an old soul?

Are you an old soul? Has anyone said that to you? Are any of your kids old souls? Have you heard that term? What is an old soul?

When my eldest one A was born, he had this look about him, a calming look, like he as familiar with his surroundings…like a “I’ve been here before” look.

As he got older he seemed like me was smarter than he should be. His negotiation skills and reasoning caught me by surprise at times.

“He’s an old soul”, they would tell me. And I instinctively knew what they meant.

We have since found out that he is smarter than your average bear and I am guessing that it was just something that he was born with.

Now my second son C he doesn’t have the smarts that his older brother has but he does have something in spades that A doesn’t have. Empathy, consideration, forethought, an absolute willingness to put other people ahead of himself.

He is 6 years old. I think I’ve got it all wrong. I think my 6 year old has it over his 9-year-old brother in terms of old soul. I mean these qualities come with maturity and there are some adults that don’t have these qualities. Truth be told, I could learn some lessons from my 6 year old.

Just yesterday, here in Sydney, we had a woeful storm. The kids and I just made it home in time after school before it really hit bad.

My daughter (the eldest of them all) asks, “Do we need to pick up Dad?”

I reply, “I hope not. I don’t want to go out in that.”

C in total dismay says “But I don’t want Dad to get wet. Can we go and get him?”

If a kid at school has a bad day, or falls over and scrapes a knee, C will come home and make a card to take to school the next day.

I’m going to New York in August for Blog Her ’12 and C gave me his US dollar bill and some coins (that his father gave him last year) so I would have some American money when I got there. A grand total of $1.49 but that’s beside the point. C collects coins so for him to give some up is a big deal.

He even dislikes the “Down Down” Coles campaign because if it forces other shops to close then people will lose their jobs.

I’d like to take some credit but I really don’t know how much of an impact I’ve had.

My youngest son L is 2 years old. He had that same look that A had when he was born. Is he an old soul? Time will tell.

Do you believe in old souls?

12 Comments

  • At 2012.06.06 20:51, Kelly Exeter said:

    Love this. I definitely definitely believe in old souls. My Mr 2 is high in empathy too (which makes me so happy!) but I am not sure if I consider him to be an old soul. There is very certain quality that some kids have that makes you feel they have been here before!

    • At 2012.06.06 21:20, Maria said:

      Hi Kelly,

      Thanks for the visit and the comment.

      I suppose not everything can be explained away by discipline, birth order, parenting style etc.

      Love & stuff
      Mrs M

    • At 2012.06.06 22:07, Donna @ NappyDaze said:

      Oh I do so very much believe in old souls! Sometimes I swear my 3 year old has been here before. It’s hard to explain but there are things he knows and grasps that blow my mind.

      Your 6 year old sound like such a sweetheart – he’ll make someone very happy one day 🙂

      • At 2012.06.07 12:15, Maria said:

        Hi Donna,

        Do you ever wonder, or does anyone ever tell you that you were perceptive beyond your years?

        I wonder if people look at adults and wonder if they are old souls…or just old 😉

        Love & stuff
        Mrs M

      • At 2012.06.07 12:44, Alex said:

        I have 2 old souls, both my girls just have this look about them. They are super chilled which I can try an take credit for but I truly believe it has nothing to do with me,they jut act like they’ve done this all before.
        .
        It’d hard to explain but if you look at their eyes and the way they take in the world, their just different somehow. Seriously can’t wait to see what happens when they get older.

        • At 2012.06.07 12:59, Maria said:

          I know what you mean. I wanted kids not because I adore the baby/toddler age but when they start hitting high school is what I get excited about.

          Love & stuff
          Mrs M

        • At 2012.06.07 13:00, Purple Cath said:

          Love this piece! My son is an old soul. Day 2 we have a photo of him staring straight through me as though “what on earth are you doing? And more the point what am I doing back here!” unfortunately I think patenting, society, cultural norms have dulled some of his intuition and knowingness that he had at birth. I’m trusting he reconnects with it sooner rather than later. Xx

          • At 2012.06.07 13:09, Maria said:

            I knew this would be right up your alley. Now that I think about it, I didn’t actually see A (my eldest son) straight away. Bit of a hellish delivery so it took a few minutes before I actually got to look at him but he did have that look.

            I don’t remember C having that look but they way he sees the world is just mind boggling. He just keeps thinking.

            A & C are very different boys.

            I just wonder whether we misinterpreted A’s old soul as just him being super clever.

            In any case, the journey is eye opening.

            Love & stuff
            Mrs M

          • At 2012.06.17 16:29, emily said:

            I definitely agree that there are old souls. Sometimes I feel like my six-year-old is wise beyond her years. I can’t explain it but even as a baby I felt like she has “been here before”.

            • At 2012.06.17 23:50, Maria said:

              Hi Emily,

              Hopefully it will bring us comfort when those tricky years get here and we have to start letting them go out into the world on their own.

              Thanks for the visit and the comment.

              Love & stuff
              Mrs M

            • At 2012.06.20 15:24, Jules said:

              not old soul but I’ve heard the term ‘been here before’ or second time around’ which hints on re-incarnation, which I do not believe in, thankfully 🙂
              My oldest always had that thrown at him. He did always seem to be just a step ahead as though he’d walked the path before. Makes for an interesting path of parenting.
              Great post, thank you.

              • At 2012.06.20 15:36, Maria said:

                Hi Jules,
                It is an interesting concept. I always wonder what happens with they reach their 20?s? Will they still appear like an old soul?
                Thanks for the visit and the comment.
                Love & stuff
                Mrs M

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