Sept 13th 2007 was the first day of Ramadhan for muslims. That's when we abstain ourselves from eating, drinking and practice patience. My 7 y.o son decided to fast for the whole month, since last year he could only manage a few days.
Hubby and I are glad though skeptical. This is his first year in real school, with bag almost heavier than himself. He goes to afternoon session, which will make it even harder with the heat and all. But we encourage him and give him money to spare in case he decided to break his fast at school.
It rained heavily that day, muddy water everywhere. Underestimate the potential heavy traffic, we arrived late at his school. On the way there, hubby was cursing at people cutting queues, honking at motorbikes, along with whining and grumbling.
When we arrived, I saw my son standing under the shed, soaking wet (rain came sideways with the heavy wind), standing (all seats were wet), with his heavy bag on his shoulders. He saw me and beamed with a smile. We had to go thru puddle of water, which soaked his shoes and lower part of his pants. Ho proudly told us that he is still fasting despite his ordeal of the day. He had to restrain himself when his fellow classmate drinked juice in front of him. Some boys were trying to be funny by teasing him with ice cream. What a day!
Yet, he managed to smile when he saw me. We his parents, spend hours in an air-conditinoed office, no one taunting us with ice cream, we were'nt require dto lift any heavy things...yet fail to be patient on the road. Cursing, honking, ... a smile? A definite luxury.
My son obviously had used the space between his stimulus and chose an appropriate response. Being proactive, my son managed to ignore the circle of concern (inconsiderate friends, weather, etc) to achieve his end in mind (complete his fasting).
It really amazes me that a child can become so mature, yet we the parents who have attended 7 Habits, failed to make full use of the space between stimulus and response, we quickly succumbed back to our autobiographical response and focus on our Circle of Concern. Sometimes, a child can be so adult and adult can be so childish.