The other day, I was waiting for the green light at a traffic signal on my bike. This of many signals in the city had the longest waiting time, while I looked at the signal, waiting, longing badly for it to go green, as i was getting late for my exam, a bike stopped next to mine, a school boy of around 12 years i guess was sitting on it, behind his father who was riding the bike. His father was scolding him for not getting ready on time for school. The boy took out a doughnut from his bag, it looked really tasty with chocolate and vanilla cream on it, seeing this I reckoned he dint have his breakfast too. Just as the boy was about to take the first bite of this really delicious looking doughnut, he stopped and looked on his right side, he saw a small boy of almost his age begging on the signal, and as he looked on, the small boy came up to him and started begging him for some change, while begging the pauper boy stared at the doughnut with his red and tired eyes, between all of this I suddenly realized I had an exam and glanced on the signal timer which had just 10 seconds to go green, as I shuffled my eyes between the signal timer and this school boy, I saw the school boy looking at his doughnut, then at the pauper boy, at that moment I thought he would give this beggar some change and get rid of him. But the boy smiled at the beggar and offered him the doughnut. Just then the green signal hit, and I raced my bike away. I was already getting late for my exam, but as I raced off away from the signal I turned back to look at the pauper boy, he was eating the doughnut with a smile on his face and his eyes full of gratitude. Seeing what the school boy had done, considering his age, sent chills down my spine, I smiled all my way to the exam centre.
That night as I lay on my bed, listening to 'payphone' from the 'maroon 5', looking at the starry sky out of the window I wondered what could have made the school boy do what he did. Then i realized that the boy did it without any reason, simply wanting to help the other boy, someone of his same age, someone who would never get to go to school like him, or someone who would never enjoy what he enjoyed in life, It was not the matter of a doughnut, it was much much deeper and intensified, he put a smile on the pauper boy's face, and i bet it was the best feeling he had, making someone smile. This amazing and rare quality is usually seen in children.
Why is it that in the course of growing up we tend to lose this quality? or should it be called growing down?
as it makes us bad and mean. As we grow up we tend to place ourselves before everything in life often don't think how it would affect others around us. Its not that we have to sacrifice really big things in our lives to make others happy, Even the smallest of our actions can spread a smile across many faces, Like what the school boy did.
I'm not trying to give a miss universe speech :P all i'm trying to say is
" Spreading a smile is worth more than all the riches on this earth "
( yes!! this is my quote, My original quote :D)
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| Smile and keep spreading smiles |
Photo credits: Revanth Vojjala Photography
