This blog post is coming to you because of a very adorable and yet brilliant conversation held on a playground. It will be short and sweet but I found it rather profound. Oh, out of the mouths of babes!
The short of it is the children wanted to know if a leopard can change his spots. They had heard this saying somewhere and were discussing the possible meaning of it. Now at 7 or 8 they are old enough to understand the metaphorical nature of this. So I explained to them that leopard’s spots are fixed and don’t change once the cat is grown. Just like many people feel that once they are grown they are set in their ways and cannot change.
That seemed to satisfy some of the children but I saw quizzical looks on a few still so I waited. Amazing what happens when you wait expectantly!
A little boy we shall call Max (not his real name) questioned my explanation. He asked if fur was like hair. I said pretty much yes. I could tell he was formulating a thought here so I waited a bit more. Finally he said but, my mom can change her hair when she goes to the hair place so why can’t a leopard do that too? Then couldn’t he change his spots.
Smart kid huh?
I supposed that a leopard could do that but it would take a lot of work and effort and planning to actually DO it right? (okay I had no idea how profound this was about to get. I honestly just wanted to point out to Max that this was theoretically possible, but not probable).
So this smarty-pants replied with out much hesitation “Ya, but doesn’t that mean that people can change but it takes a lot of work?”
I was floored; or grassed as we were on a field, but wow. Now I know Max. He isn’t your typical kid..he’s a real thinker. Still, I was impressed, surprised and speechless for a moment. 
So, what do you think? Can a leopard change his spots?
There’s always a possibility to change its up to u to the ways.
But why would the leopard want to change his spots? Max’s mother goes to someone because she wants change but does the leopard know anything different?
Great post
Wow, I love kids! You never know what comes out of their mouths. Considering hair does grow and shed (as Roy explained above), a leopard could technically change his spots but it’s something that comes over time. The same with change: change is gradual and comes over time. It’s up to you if you adapt quickly or slowly!
Kids can teach us so very much about ourselves cant they?
I do believe we can change, but it takes commitment, resolve, courage and an unstoppable belief in our ability to be able to. To change we often are working at a subsconscious level of beliefs, and values which takes a lot of work….so worth it though.
Thanks for sharing this great insight from Max
People can change but the change should come from within. As for kids, they are much smarter than all of us combined, growing up takes away all the fun!
out of the mouths of babes! That kid sure made me think. I would say the spots represent the “outside,” which we can’t change. For example, if we are short, tall, left-handed, etc. but the inside CAN be changed. It still takes a lot of work, but once accomplished, the “outside” seems different too. I’m talking about attitudes, prejudices, beliefs, etc. Great post! Thanks for the mind-bender
How profound! Great snippet, Bonnie. It totally made me smile. =) I’m sure that kid is going to put in the work to accomplish positive changes in his own life as well. =)
Love that Max found the possibility. I believe people can change their attitudes and actions. We can’t always change the circumstances but we can make a conscious choice on how we interact with them. It does take effort and some new tools however, it leads to a more effortless life once we make the investment.
Absolutely, people can change. I love personal development and my own growth and improvement is something I focus on a lot. I’m constantly learning and I believe that I’ve done a lot of changing over the years to become a better person in my thinking, in my words and in my actions.
As I said- first, should it? And, if it should, as Max said, it just doesn’t shed- it replaces with another. And, therein lies the key. Trying to change from with nothing to go to is not only hard, but, probably, misguided. Figure out where you want to go and then change to get there!