The Sparrow!
After a nice long break.. writing again..
Today's inspiration was a short narration I heard on the radio.
It starts in the backyard of an ordinary home. Sitting on the bench at one end is a cute old man, staring at the grass and the flowers and cherishing whatever little time he has left with nature. Beside him is a young man, in his 30's deeply engrossed in the newspaper he is reading.
A short while later, a little bird lands in their backyard pecking away at something in the dirt. The old man smiles, and watches it for a while. Then he asks, "Son, what bird is that?" The young man looks up from his newspaper and answers, "Dad, its a sparrow." And then he goes back to reading his newspaper. A few minutes later, the old man asks again, "Son, what bird is that?" Again the young man, looks up from his newspaper (a little frustrated this time), and answers in a louder tone, "Dad, IT'S A SPARROW!" He goes back to reading his newspaper. A few minutes later, the old man asks yet again, "Son, what bird is that?" The young man having completely lost his temper, fold his newspaper, puts it down on the bench and yells, "DAD, HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU?! HAVE YOU GONE DEAF? WHY ARE YOU CONSTANTLY DISTURBING ME?! DON'T YOU SEE ME READING THE NEWSPAPER?!!" The old man just remained silent until his son was done yelling.
When his son was done, the old man got up and went indoors. A few minutes later, the old man comes back holding a diary in his hand. He walks upto his son and hands him the diary, and opens it to a particular page. The young man, confused, read.
It was of an incident that had occurred in the same backyard, several years ago (over 25 years ago). It was about a little boy and his father, who were in the backyard, enjoying a sunny day. A bird lands in their backyard. And the little boy asks his father, "Daddy, what bird is this?" His father hugs him and answers "Son, it's a sparrow." The little boy asks his father the same question several times over and over and over again. And everytime his father answers him, with a big smile and a hug.
Upon reading this, the young man's heart swelled with emotion. Tears filled his eyes. He closed the diary, stood up and hugged his father with tears pouring down his cheeks and said, "I'm sorry, Daddy."
This beautiful story was narrated after the news clipping that was read out of one of India's leading newspapers, about how the number of old age homes in India have shot up in the past couple of years. And the Indian government has passed a new law to prevent parents from being abandoned in their greatest time of need. The law is concerning the necessity that parents be funded by the children, even if they were being placed in old age homes. The news reporter went to add that there is another law that is being broken which is more valuable than any financial support. It is the law of the emotional relationship between a parent and a child. However, no government or law enforcing authority can enforce this law upon any individual. No court can grant justice to any parent in this regard.
What your parents have done for you, you can never repay. But it is our duty and our responsibility to try our best!
Today's inspiration was a short narration I heard on the radio.
It starts in the backyard of an ordinary home. Sitting on the bench at one end is a cute old man, staring at the grass and the flowers and cherishing whatever little time he has left with nature. Beside him is a young man, in his 30's deeply engrossed in the newspaper he is reading.
A short while later, a little bird lands in their backyard pecking away at something in the dirt. The old man smiles, and watches it for a while. Then he asks, "Son, what bird is that?" The young man looks up from his newspaper and answers, "Dad, its a sparrow." And then he goes back to reading his newspaper. A few minutes later, the old man asks again, "Son, what bird is that?" Again the young man, looks up from his newspaper (a little frustrated this time), and answers in a louder tone, "Dad, IT'S A SPARROW!" He goes back to reading his newspaper. A few minutes later, the old man asks yet again, "Son, what bird is that?" The young man having completely lost his temper, fold his newspaper, puts it down on the bench and yells, "DAD, HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU?! HAVE YOU GONE DEAF? WHY ARE YOU CONSTANTLY DISTURBING ME?! DON'T YOU SEE ME READING THE NEWSPAPER?!!" The old man just remained silent until his son was done yelling.
When his son was done, the old man got up and went indoors. A few minutes later, the old man comes back holding a diary in his hand. He walks upto his son and hands him the diary, and opens it to a particular page. The young man, confused, read.
It was of an incident that had occurred in the same backyard, several years ago (over 25 years ago). It was about a little boy and his father, who were in the backyard, enjoying a sunny day. A bird lands in their backyard. And the little boy asks his father, "Daddy, what bird is this?" His father hugs him and answers "Son, it's a sparrow." The little boy asks his father the same question several times over and over and over again. And everytime his father answers him, with a big smile and a hug.
Upon reading this, the young man's heart swelled with emotion. Tears filled his eyes. He closed the diary, stood up and hugged his father with tears pouring down his cheeks and said, "I'm sorry, Daddy."
This beautiful story was narrated after the news clipping that was read out of one of India's leading newspapers, about how the number of old age homes in India have shot up in the past couple of years. And the Indian government has passed a new law to prevent parents from being abandoned in their greatest time of need. The law is concerning the necessity that parents be funded by the children, even if they were being placed in old age homes. The news reporter went to add that there is another law that is being broken which is more valuable than any financial support. It is the law of the emotional relationship between a parent and a child. However, no government or law enforcing authority can enforce this law upon any individual. No court can grant justice to any parent in this regard.
What your parents have done for you, you can never repay. But it is our duty and our responsibility to try our best!
posted by Blue Rose @ 9:33 AM
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