As I hold his hand, and took him around the school field as part of the routine morning exercise, he stared at me in a hostile manner. This is a special child. He does not like to be part of the regular group to exercise. He prefers to be alone.
That day, I decided to get him involved in some activities. So, I took him for a walk around the school field. I was expecting him to rebel and pull away from me, but surprisingly he was very quiet. He grasped my hand and began to follow me slowly. As we were walking, I talked to him as usual though he did not acknowledge me at all. I do not know whether, he understood me, but I had a very strong feeling that he was listening.
I see a carpet of green grass expanding all over the small school field. I failed to notice other things around me, as my mind was busy attending some business of its own. But, the innocent child in his own world taught me something new on that day, “live in the present, not in the past or the future” the phrase that we all the so-called adults, might have read, spoken and heard of every now and then. During the walk, suddenly he bent down and picked a small rock, which lies hidden among the grass and concealed from my eyes. He took it, flipped the rock a few times and passed to me. At first, I ignored that little act, which seemed so insignificant for me. Then, as the walk continued, he pulled my hand and dragged me towards a strange looking leaf, which lies amidst the thousands of dried leaves. It was indeed something strange, his mind could sift one leaf out of many, and that leaf is unique in its shape. We were about to complete the third round, when he spotted a grasshopper and his eyes began to trail the path taken by the grasshopper. I admit, I had never once been aware of these things during my walk. Finally, he stopped at a point and turned his attention to the luscious mangoes hanging on the tree at one end of the field.
That day, this child thought me the true art of living in the presence of constant awareness of our existence. Without this awareness, life becomes a meaningless travel. I marvel at this child and was a little embarrassed at my lack of aptitude to see things that he could see.
He lives only in the present. God bless the child. Those who live in the ‘present’ live eternally.
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This child has so many hurdles to overcome in his life, that many of us take for granted...yet he can notice all the things that we may find "insignificant"..that are infact important things that are just over looked...
ReplyDeleteIt's not that these things are hidden from our eyes, we just dont take the time to notice them...
This little boy may not have acknowledged you when you spoke to him, but if he can notice things that others cannot...then he was listening to your every word...and just maybe he wanted to teach you something....which he did.. ;-D