Two weeks ago, on a regular Wednesday morning, I packed my purse to walk towards the bus station in Manchester when I found the queue was too long. Some sort of delay in the bus route meant we all struggled to find space under the roof of the bus stop when it was pouring. A young boy next to me, Joshua, stood with his mother. He must have been 4 to 5 years old, I couldn’t tell.
“Why is everybody so late today?” he asked. His mother patted on his head and looked on. What followed was a string of long chatter from the young boy that entertained the entire crowd for several minutes. I had to make mental notes of what he said, and this is what I managed to put together:
1. When it rains, nobody tries to help the old man by the chemist on the roadside. And he gets drenched and coughs.
2. My friend told me that black people are nice and then I gave him my Pokemon card. (Joshua is black).
3. If we can bring the cows and pigs to the cities, we can have more nice pets. (his mother didn’t have the heart to tell him at the time, that animals are usually slaughtered)
4. We can plant trees and grass for the cows in the town centre because there aren’t many around.
5. If the bus driver knew that someone was always watching over his shoulder, he wouldn’t be so late.
As I carried on my journey there afterward, I looked back and thought how much the boy had said in less than 10 minutes. Irrespective of our faiths and backgrounds, some universal values always seem to reflect in childhood. The real test of our rearing and self help is how much of it stays with us throughout our lives.
Some very simple things to mull over but if these five ideas from Joshua could stay with us, we might just have a happier life.
Lily
“Why is everybody so late today?” he asked. His mother patted on his head and looked on. What followed was a string of long chatter from the young boy that entertained the entire crowd for several minutes. I had to make mental notes of what he said, and this is what I managed to put together:
1. When it rains, nobody tries to help the old man by the chemist on the roadside. And he gets drenched and coughs.
2. My friend told me that black people are nice and then I gave him my Pokemon card. (Joshua is black).
3. If we can bring the cows and pigs to the cities, we can have more nice pets. (his mother didn’t have the heart to tell him at the time, that animals are usually slaughtered)
4. We can plant trees and grass for the cows in the town centre because there aren’t many around.
5. If the bus driver knew that someone was always watching over his shoulder, he wouldn’t be so late.
As I carried on my journey there afterward, I looked back and thought how much the boy had said in less than 10 minutes. Irrespective of our faiths and backgrounds, some universal values always seem to reflect in childhood. The real test of our rearing and self help is how much of it stays with us throughout our lives.
Some very simple things to mull over but if these five ideas from Joshua could stay with us, we might just have a happier life.
Lily
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