Since the devastating earthquake, I have been leaving the TV on all the time while I am home.  It is an unusual behavior for a person who has no cable TV subscription.  I am not paying attention to the TV but the thought of being able to catch any new development somehow comforts me.

I was day dreaming while I was standing in front of the TV, when  I was jerked back by the sound of the TV reporter “……. 11 years old xxxx….. was looking for his grandmother, and parents….”  The image of a boy, who was wearing a white coat raising two posters, one in each hand, standing in front of a roomful of people, was on the TV screen.   Tears filled my eyes, the reporter’s voice faded and I was transfixed by the boy’s image.  He bowed to the people, raised the posters, and quietly looked into the crowd.  His face and manner were gentle and amiable with a dignified grace. There were no tears or anguish on his face.  After awhile, he bowed again and walked away quietly, and repeated the same action with different crowds.  According to the reporter, one sign was his name and who he was looking for (grandmother, father and mother), and the other sign was “Thank you for your help.  Please wait for me, I will be back tomorrow at 11:00 AM”, at least, I had caught that much of the information from the reporter.

How I wish I could extend my arms and hold him tight! How I wish I could tell him that “No matter what happened, he would be fine, because he has the best of parents who imprinted the highest human behavior and spirit in him.  He has the best of parents and upbringing. He has the best of luck to have such good parents……..”

I can’t shake the few seconds of that image from my mind.  I keep thinking what my son would have done in that situation as an 11 years old boy.  Did I teach him enough to have higher life conditions rather than living in the lower six paths (In Buddhism: all humans mutually posses 10 worlds/stages of life conditions)?  Did I teach my son the courage to go on with life, with his head high without bitterness?  Did I teach him enough to take charge of his life and be resourceful as the boy did? Did I teach him to be a dignified person with integrity?  Most importantly, did I teach him to love and respect life?

What good parents and a grandmother that boy has! They taught him to live with courage and dignity. They taught him to go on living with respect for life and intelligence.  The boy gave me hope for human nature, in believing - we humans are able to have constant higher life conditions to influence our environment to create a better world.  The boy made me want to be a better person, to always remember to view life as a half full glass instead of a half empty one!

I salute his grandmother, parents and him!  I sincerely wish they have been united!