The children knew Levin very little, and could not remember when they had seen him, but they experienced in regard to him none of that strange feeling of shyness and hostility which children so often experience towards hypocritical, grown-up people, and for which they are so often and miserably punished. Hypocrisy in anything whatever may deceive the cleverest and most penetrating man, but the least wide-awake of children recognizes it, and is revolted by it, however ingeniously it may be disguised.

From “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy

I begin the New Year with an exception. My first post is dedicated to Leo Tolstoy, one of the greatest novelists whose influence is still felt throughout the entire world literature.  Even modern soap operas are patterned afterAnna Karenina’s model. The reason for  children’s perspicacity surpasses our understanding. In one of my short stories included in my book“The Silver Teacup” – An Errand for God”—I write: “After pondering for a while I concluded that the adult human brain might not be able to perceive His face.  As we get older we lose the ability to ascertain the real meaning of what is going on around us. We listen to other people’s words, and their mere phonetics obscures the real messages.  As we look at their faces, we see the details of their physiognomy yet miss their true expression. As children, however, we receive information like antennae that can sense and see beyond the tangible reality.”