My son had a week off from school last week. Schools in Germany have holidays every six weeks on average. To keep kids and teachers stress-free and enable them to take a break every now and then, I think this has been the norm for many years. My son spent last week meeting different friends. He has a friend from his old primary school, and he loves to hang out with him on every vacation. He often goes to his house, as his friend has a big house and a separate room for himself. They laugh a lot and talk a lot, and the friends' mom and I are grateful for their friendship and make every effort to meet up on a regular basis. So my son spent a night out with that friend, and then he planned to go swimming with two other friends from the primary school who stay close by.
The three boys went by train to the swimming pool, spent some nice time swimming, playing, and eating, and in the evening at 6 p.m., my phone rang. My son had taken money to pay for the time at the swimming pool, but it seems he lost the money, and hence he could not come out of the gate. I specifically told him to check everything—in his pants pockets and in his bag, which contained his swimming stuff. I also told him to ask his friends if they had seen the money by any chance. He vehemently told me that he had checked everything and hadn't found the money. So, the only option was to go there, make the payment, and get the boys out of the swimming pool. I quickly got into my black beauty; she has become so handy nowadays! I can quickly hop in and hop out and go anywhere I want to. The swimming pool is very close to my house—around 4 kilometers and 10 minutes to reach by car. But with the tram, it takes a long time, and the tram needs to be changed at a place far from my house to get to the pool. I reached there in 10 minutes, though driving in the dark was a little trouble for me. It was the first time I drove in the dark in my black beauty, and I realized that I enjoy driving during the day. Night driving must be fun, but I need to get used to it.
I parked the car and went to the counter, paid the outstanding balance, and brought the boys out. I drove back home, dropped the friends off, and then went home. I was not in a very good mood because my son had apparently lost 10 euros. He is actually not a careless kid when it comes to money. But, I reasoned, things happen; they're kids, after all, and he must have dropped the money while talking to his friends. After all, it was only ten euros. But that thought didn't leave me for a long time. For this generation, it was just 10 euros, but for me, it was a lot of money! We had dinner and forgot about the event. After some time, my son came running to me with the 10 euros that were always in his bag! I didn't know what to say or how to react. I had told him on the phone when he called me the first time to check properly everywhere. He said he did. But now I know he didn't check thoroughly and simply overlooked the 10 euros he had kept in his side pockets with his own hands.
This incident set me thinking. We, as adults, also behave in the same manner in many situations. We try to find happiness and comfort outside, in material things, e.g., in a car, a big house, our bank balance, expensive trips to different countries, eating in expensive restaurants, buying designer clothing, etc. But we all fail to look within, meditate, and try to find the happiness that is in simplicity. We run aimlessly behind things that we feel could liberate us and give us happiness and peace, but the truth is that they always reside within us. We just need the right vision and depth to see and experience it.
What do you think?
Loved it totally!!!!!!
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