Lessons from innocent hearts

Our kids are the biggest teachers. And at times they are the ones who help us reconnect with our humane side. Their innocent questions and queries leave us speechless. I find myself with no answer at all to many queries of my preschooler. And many a times i struggle to find a reasonable, satisfying and logical answer to his questions. I also feel that i fail at times to explain stuff to him when he wants to know very simple things like why did i got married? why is it that people argue? why can't he color the mango orange instead of the usual yellow?
A recent incident that made me feel guilty needs to be quoted so that i can remember it in times to come and learn from it whenever i am going astray. We take a rickshaw everyday from his school back home, and it's awfully hot even at 10:30 am. in the morning when the school gets over. The day I took an umbrella to protect us from sun, he noticed that while we were in the shade, the poor rickshaw-puller was sweating in the sun. He asked me why was I holding the umbrella, i told him to provide ourselves some shade from the bright sun. Immediately he said that the rickshaw puller must also be feeling the heat and why don't i hold the umbrella in such a way that he is also in shade and protected from the sun as he is sweating. I tried to explain to him that i cannot hold it up so high that he too can be protected while pulling us, though in hearts of heart i felt pretty ashamed of myself and belittled by a little one's sensitiveness and empathy. I tried to overcome it by paying him a few extra bucks, thinking that's the least that i can do.
I came back home pondering and reflecting on this, and a childhood memory came rushing back to my mind. My mother always offered a glass or two of cold drinking water to rickshaw pullers, postman, dhobi, all those whom she felt were doing cheap manual labor for us and also could not ask for even a glass of water. Also she always tried to instill in us a sense of empathy and helping the less fortunate ones. I thanked my son that day for reminding me all those values which were taking a backseat amidst my self-centered persona.
Also I pray that we as parents, lead a life from which he not just learns but practice values, thereby himself leading a life that is not self-centered and all about himself. 

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