Compassion and Patience

An extract from SoulSeeds

An 85 year old man was sitting on the sofa with his 50 year old son.  Suddenly a crow perched on their window.  The Father asked his Son, “What is this?” The Son replied “It is a crow”.

After a few minutes, the Father asked his Son the 2nd time, “What is this?”The Son said “I just told you “It’s a crow”. After a little while, the old Father again asked his Son the 3rd time, What is this?”

Then the son got impatient. “It’s a crow, I told you, a crow, a crow”.

A little after, the Father again asked his Son the 4th time, “What is this?”

This time the Son shouted at his Father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again. I have told you so many times ‘IT IS A CROW’. Are you listening?”

A little later the Father went to his room and came back with an old tattered diary, which he had kept since his Son was born. He opened a page, and asked his Son to read it. The following words were written in the diary-

“Today my three year old son was sitting with me on the sofa, and a crow was sitting on the window. He asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a crow. It made me smile so much. I hugged him  each time he asked me the same question again and again for 23 times, smiled and told him again. It was a beautiful moment to share.”

Remember that if someone is annoying you, they are often just doing the best they can. And remember that you were once an innocent child, asking naive but beautifully open questions. And remember that you were once a self preoccupied teenager, thinking the world only revolved around you.

When we find ourselves caught up in the world of impatience and frustration,  remember to become still and see life through eyes of compassion and patience for ourselves and each other.