Pleasant Surprises

Recently, my daughter related a tale to me about her son. He's a teenager in high school, a promising junior who excels in academics, participates in many organizations, studies martial arts, and is a whiz at military history. He is a shy young man, yet is popular with his peers.

As he and his friends were coming home from school, my grandson noticed an elderly man, bent over with age and arthritis, studying a map. The old man appeared to be lost and unable to determine which way to go. My grandson saw the man's confusion. He hurried across the street and asked the old man if he needed help. The old man nodded, then described where he was trying to go. My grandson checked the map, then explained how the old man could get to his destination.

The old man started along the route, but was hesitant and uncertain in his movements. My grandson realized that the old man might still get lost, so he caught up with the man and then guided him ultimately to the man's destination.

When my grandson rejoined his friends, they were all shocked. "Why did you go off with that man? Don't you realize you could have been in danger?" they all asked. My grandson's friends all live in social cocoons, overly protected by parents who fear any social deviation. My grandson's response was twofold. First, he has training in martial arts, and knows how to protect himself. He had little to fear from an old man, and throughout the incident, he remained in control of the situation. Second, helping the old man was the right thing to do, regardless of the circumstances.

When my grandson recounted the incident, he did claim that he had learned an important lesson from the experience. 

"I need to learn more about reading maps," he said. "I took us down a wrong street before I discovered my mistake."

As a parent or a grandparent, it is always rewarding when you learn that your progeny have learned some of the important lessons of life. To me, these are:

1) Don't live in fear.

2) When you see someone in need of help, offer your help.

3) Don't be swayed by the opinion of the crowd; try to live by your own values.

4) Never stop learning. Learn how to read maps.

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