Heart of hurt-Part of forgiveness

 One day, when I went to teach a moral lesson in Standard 6, something happened. I was teaching about a boy named Shakti who lost one leg in an accident. His handicap restricted him from doing many activities. He was a very good basketball player, but now he could not play. In this new place, he met a new friend called Manish. He could sense Shakti's agony in his crippledness and invited him to play basketball with them the following day. He was at first shocked, but then he was excited too.

The next day, he was right there on the basketball court, eagerly waiting for the team to arrive. Everyone gathered was mocking Shakti. "Hey Shakti, how did you get here? Don't you know that you are a crippled boy? How will you play this game?" Hearing all the negative voices filled Shakti with remorse, and he regretted the day he met with the accident.

Then Manish said, 'If Shakti does not play, I will also not play.' The other team members were astonished at this announcement. They came to Manish to make him rethink his decision, but he was adamant. Finally, Shakti was allowed to play. Then Manish laid out the new rules of the game. He said that this game is unique, and we will all be playing it with one leg. As the game began, Shakti rocked the court because he was accustomed to working with one leg. This made the whole group realise how Shakti lived his life. They all apologised for their rude behaviour towards Shakti. Thus, I taught them about being empathetic.

As I finished my lesson, a student came to me. I was not well that day but somehow took the class. After the class, I sat on the chair when this student approached me. He was just showing me his hand. No words came from his mouth. I said to him, "Go and sit in your place." I was leaving the class, and the students said, Maam, he is crying." My heart said to turn and attend to him. I went to him. He was crying. Then I asked him, "What happened?"

The other students said, "Ma'am, his right hand has also not worked since childhood." Then everything became clear to me. After the class, that child came to me to show that the story you are teaching today is my story. He was overwhelmed, and maybe he was also unable to speak. I failed to understand his communication. Then I asked him, "How do you manage your daily class work?" He said, 'I do it with my left hand.' In order to encourage him, I mentioned Amitabh Bacchan; he is also a left-hander, and he reached great heights in his life. I hope you will also reach the same conclusion. I did not know how to compensate for the loss I created by not attending to him, but his friends got the idea to encourage him, and they said, "He is a very good football player." I said, 'That sounds cool, so some day I will see you as a rocking football player.' He felt good. I requested that he wash his face and rejoin the class.

This incident shook me from the inside. Many times, we become so engaged in our own selves that we fail to attend to others needs. I need to work a lot in this field.

 

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2023