Intent to Action

Our family needed some medicines at about 10.30 pm, and since we had just finished a hearty meal, my son Rakshan and I decided to walk to the nearby medical hall, than use the car. Half way into our errand, Rakshan noticed a poorly dressed man sleeping in a dark corner of the footpath and said, “Dad, maybe we should put a 100 Rupee note in his hand.” After some thought on whether this was prudent, he decided against it, but as we walked on, he kept wondering what we could do to help the man. I suggested that we could buy some biscuits for him at the medicine shop, but once there, we got busy with the purchase of the medicines and forgot all about the biscuits.

As we walked back, we came to the spot the man was sleeping in the darkness, and suddenly remembered the biscuits. My son looked around for a shop to buy the forgotten item, but an idea struck him when he noticed a restaurant a few yards away. He took me there, ordered an Aloo Paratha (Spiced mashed potatoes in flat bread), took the packet to the man, knelt down and said, “Brother please get up and eat”. The man with a nod of his  head and a  grateful look acknowledged the  offering.  Rakshan got up to his feet and continued walking towards home as if nothing had happened... it came so naturally to him. Having witnessed this, I realized how little it does it  take for us to walk the talk.