As my daughter rushed to the bench, I called her back. “Let’s sit on
the other bench,” I said.
“Why, Mom? I like this one. There’s a boy there,” she asked innocently.
“It’s not clean here. Let’s go to the other bench,” I replied, avoiding
a detailed explanation.
She followed reluctantly, frequently glancing back at the boy. He
smiled at her, his eyes sparkling with joy.
“What’s wrong with sitting next to him? Is it because he’s poor?” she
asked, her tone tinged with sadness and anger.
“He’s dirty. I don’t want you near him,” I said.
She sat grumpily beside me; her eyes still drawn to the boy. Suddenly,
he stood up and pulled out a friendship band from his pocket, smiling
invitingly. My daughter looked at me, eyes pleading.
It was then in a blinding flash of realization, I became aware of how
peevish I had been failing to see the beauty in his spirit past that grubby
outfit. I could no longer see the filth in his hair or dress. “Why not? Go to
him and get the wristband,” I told my daughter.
She jumped in joy and ran to him. The boy tied the band carefully
without touching her hand with both watching me. I called them both over and handed
my daughter a packet of chocolates to share. I told my daughter, “Give him your
hand for a warm shake and run around the fountain”.
As they ran with their hands held together, I could see the happiness
writ large on their faces. The boy no longer seemed ugly and his smile looked
angelic to me as his warmth and joy were evident.
Reflecting on my childhood, I realized how superficial my initial
judgment had been. True beauty lies within and we must look deeper to find it.
Life’s circumstances vary, but kindness and warmth transcend appearances.
Sweet story but was not able to comment there
ReplyDeleteProfound message. Thanks 🙏
ReplyDeleteBeautiful; reminded of the writings of Bruce Hardy:
ReplyDeleteThere was a shadow.
It was a thinking shadow,
a shadow you could feel but not see,
It was a worry.
But like a bird’s shadow,
the worry shadow darted,
flickered, and was gone.
Janardhan N
In Hindi they say "jo hota hai, vo dikhta nahin; jo dikhta hai vo hota nahin". (What exists, is not seen; what is seen, does not exist") and all of us pass through this illusion. The real problem is 'I', 'Me' and 'Mine' that generates/comes out of 'Ahankar'. When we look from the Mind's eye, all are God's creation. Look within and 'Karuna' (compassion) are the keys to see God in everything and everywhere. Regards Sir
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful story! Much needed value for the current society.
ReplyDeleteTake care
Chitra
All of us make the same mistake
ReplyDeleteOne more outcome of the story is that a child's heart is full of pure and unconditional love. As we grow, we develop hatred (Dvesh) which can be shed with the past knowledge and experiences in life. Once we do this we can see eternal joy all around.
ReplyDeleteShort and sweet!
ReplyDeleteLoved the story...I can imagine how happy the two children were feeling ...True friendship Day....beautiful story....Sandhya
ReplyDeleteNice story. Just shows that kindness and warmth are far more important than superficial differences, is it not?
ReplyDeleteMany tiny seemingly inconsequential things of our daily life give us happiness to us as well to others. And, in their absence, many daily frustrations bombarded by without being aware. An act of kindness or compassion rebounds back to the girl's life too. Beautiful story.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it takes courage to go beyond our first reaction to question our biases and be more human. Touching story,.
ReplyDeleteNice. Not a very common sight these days.
ReplyDeleteMeant only for feeling and only in silence.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful story. Loved it.
ReplyDeleteIt is really nice that the mother permitted her daughter to become friends with the boy. Mostly we are hypocrites, have different scale for different people. Realisation dawns upon us very late. Better late than never.
ReplyDeleteA message that really runs deep!
ReplyDeleteVery sweet story with a great message of looking into the inner beauty of a person. Atin Biswas
ReplyDeleteA lovely story. Children are so innocent and pure. It's we the adults who measure differently. It's nice if the mother to think geyind those scales.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful story,! Children are like God. Their unconditional love, innocence , their warmth their laughter beyond words.
ReplyDeleteAs we grow we spoil ourselves learning anger, hatred selfishall negative.
Your story conveys the the value of being good.
When you judge another,
ReplyDeleteyou don’t define them;
you define yourself.
Thanks for nicely weaving in words the oft-forgotten old truth that what’s within matters most. We all need reminding. (JJ)
ReplyDeleteKindness knows no boundaries or bias and comes naturally. Regards - Mahesh
ReplyDeleteLovely n heartwarming story......
ReplyDeleteVery real. And not many take take the leap the lady did. It's unfortunate that we don't scratch the surface.......
ReplyDeleteIn real life such instances are very rare. The social divide is everywhere.While reading you feel good about love and affection of innocent children. P K Ramachandran
ReplyDelete'Dil ko dekho chehra na dekho, chehre ne lakhon ko loota' ,a Hindi film song lyrics lays down norms for assessing a person. What meets the eyes may not reveal the hidden features of the character of the person. It is not possible for an innocent kid to instantaneously judge unless guided by the elders,who themselves are carried away initially by their impulse till they review and decide cautiously.
ReplyDeleteJagadeesan
Nice story..you always bring out humaneness so beautifully
ReplyDeleteLoved the story. Beauty lies in the inner character not outer looks. If the mother had not let her daughter play I would not have liked the story. Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and dumb can speak. Keep rocking!!!
ReplyDelete