Karma – A Childhood Lesson
45Tuesday 28 February, 2017 by Uncle Spike
This is a true tale that happened within the last hour. It is perhaps small and maybe insignificant to some, but played out as part of a parent-child lesson we happened to be discussing, father to son, at that very moment.
Since our kiddo was just a few months old, I would take him in his pushchair to the nearest road to ‘watch the cars’. He soon learned to wave in order to gain a response – double air-horn blasts and a wave back from the driver of a big truck always being the highest accolade a young kid could receive. The lesson had started… ‘give and you shall receive’, you ‘reap what you sow’ etc….. Basically, I used to explain that if you do a bad thing, then most likely a bad thing will happen in return; but if you do a good thing, more times than not, you’ll find a positive response. Not always, sure, but hey, it must be worth trying, yeah?
.
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Nine years on and we still wave and try and spread a little smile to those we perceive are in need (i.e. anyone we see). We live in a rural village in Türkiye by the way, so for some this may read strange 🙂 Anyway, whilst waiting for the school bus each morning, kiddo waves at the passing bicycles, tractors, cars, trucks, and small buses for other schools. He has slowly built a small but varied group of ‘happy responders’.
One passing school bus driver was a normal guy in his 60’s who never saw us to be honest, never responded. Kiddo said last year, “I’m gonna make him smile one day”. Months of proactive waving on, and he now flashes his lights, beeps his horn and waves furiously – often before kiddo does. This morning was another first. He pulled over and jumped out, came over and said to me, “What a lovely young man. Thank you, he makes my day”. He then turned to kiddo, shook his hand and thanked him. He then gave him a lovely snack bar for ‘after school’ and left to drive to the next village.
Karma.
Yes, it was a small action, but couldn’t demonstrate better how one’s own treatment of others does matter in this world. There will be many who may mock such liberal attitudes, but think about it; whilst being positive is not always met with a positive response, I’m pretty sure that dishing out the negative (or doing nothing) is rarely meets with a positive response.
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That brought a smile to my day! You never know…that grumpy person may just be waiting for a kind words to thaw the ice!
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Came here from Your guest appearance on Patricia’s page (NBC). And the Words, ‘Give and you shall receive’, ‘You reap what you sow,’ are Superb. Reblogged. 🙂
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[…] via Karma – A Childhood Lesson […]
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wonderful attitude
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Thank you for this sweet and poignant reminder of how we can be the change…..
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You are a great and enlightened father. 🙂
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Respectively awaiting the verdict on that in say another 25 years 🙂
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I think in 11 or so years’ time, you will know. All the best to the Spike family! 🙂
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That’s a lovely story 🙂 You have taught your son how to spread sunshine in the world. Smiles are so infectious. I always smile at people. Mostly they smile back, but sometimes they glower at me, or cut me dead. It always hurts me a bit, but I assume that they are in a bad mood, or have the weight of the world on their shoulders, or are shy, introverted, or whatever. That being said, in the UK you have to be very careful about smiling at random children, in case they take it the wrong way … which is mega-sad.
I do hope you will still occasionally post something here, on your blog. You have so many followers here, who miss you, I’m sure.
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Thank you dear Sarah for your words. Yes, that’s one side of life in this part of the world that is a huge plus.
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Hey Spike how lovely to hear from you. What a delightful post .. made me smile! Wonderful ..
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You never know what a small gesture, such as waving or smiling at someone, can mean to someone. So glad that the bus driver came around. It’s a great lesson for your son.
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I love this! My husband and I wave at everyone we pass as we walk the dog twice a day. It’s such a small gesture but means Namaste in it’s own way. You’re teaching your son to go out into the world openly. What a wonderful lesson. Thank you for sharing it with us!
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And hopefully he’ll do the same in his life…
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What a beautiful post, a great and wonderful life lesson all wrapped up in a smile! So often we talk about Karma in the negative…do something bad and it will come back to you in double doses….but this sweet life lesson was on Karma in the positive. My maternal grandfather always, always, always said…’Smile and the world smiles with you.’ He is so right.
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Wise words indeed.
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It’s amazing what joy a little act of kindness can bring. Lovely to hear from you Spike.
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Nice one Spike. Brought a gloss to my eye.
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Bless and you will be blessed. Glad to hear from you
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Lovely story and I’m so glad you’re back! There’s an older gentleman who is walking his dog when I leave for work. His smile is my first of the day and makes my day brighter.
I’m so glad Spike Jr is learning the same thing. 😊
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It’s these little things that brighten our world for sure.
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Nice story…good to see you posting again…(Suzanne)
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Thanks Suzanne.
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What a lovely story and a wonderful young man! I’ve missed you. Hope all is well with you and yours.
janet
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Thanks Janet – yep, too funny not to share. We are alive and well; just keeping our heads down.
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A small moment brought a huge lesson. This will be something that kiddo will remember long after you are gone. What greater gift can a parent give. Touching …
Isadora 😎
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I think he’s pretty much got – it’s been a way of life since a babe.
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The smallest of gestures can often have the greatest impact. Wonderful. And so nice to see you here again, Spike. 💖
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Indeed they do on occasion.
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Oh, you have ‘karma’ back! Haha! So happy to see you here, Spike. Yes, a simple gesture can lead to change. And you’ve scored an A+ on parenting. (=^・ェ・^=))ノ彡☆
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Haha, thanks.
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Hello stranger. Nice to see a post from you.
I had a similar situation with a teyze here in our village. I have said Gunaydin to her every morning for the past 4 years. Nada. I will perservere though. One day … one day
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We too have our ‘ultimate target’, an amca (and farm neighbour) who passes by on his tractor every market day and looks directly through any humanoid. One day … one day 🙂
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How wonderful to see you again, Spikey! And with a wonderful push in the positive direction.
It’s amazing how easy it actually is! Just smile! And you make yourself happy too! (If you aren’t already.) 😉
Yes, I too get many smiles back. Even more now than I got when I first started to smile actively, by purpose, so to speak.
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We can only gain if we try 🙂
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So true! And suddenly you don’t try any longer. You do it because it has become a part of you. 🙏
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Believe it or not, you made me cry… Thanks for sharing. People in my country have been longing for such stories in which happiness, hope and tiny huge feelings of positivity spread over in a ripple effect. For so long…
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It is still one of the good things about Turkish life for sure, albeit slowly and surely it too will disappear I fear. But for today at least, we smile.
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I hope he always smiles.
Have a great day!
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Beautiful and so true. It has been a habit of mine for a long time. I smile at ladies or older people when I pass them. Most of them smile back. It makes my day and I hope it makes theirs too .
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Sometimes they just think we are weird; that’s funny too 🙂
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Welcome back, Uncle! There are no small lessons when it comes to our kids. You taught your son your values, and when he is older you will build on that, teaching him bigger values. It’s like math. He’s not going to learn physics if he hasn’t mastered adding and subtraction.
You taught your kiddo how to share his joy. Congratulations for raising a fine, positive young man!
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Love the basic math and physics analogy; spot on.
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Beautiful, Uncle Spike. Beautiful. Just today I was thinking I miss your updates on Turkey and the farm. Still remember the hen pecking your amazing zipping crawling bug out of the lens.
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Oh yes, the big poo bug.
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