Two brothers settle their quarrel

Being at the beach offers refreshing times and learning experiences. 

A family with their three children  were alone at the beach on that evening when Anna and I arrived along with Amy and Arpit. It was a cool eventing with low tide, an ideal setting for making a beach visit special.

As usual I got carried away in watching the two boys, playing in the water and running between the shore and the sea. One of them started several times to make a sand castle and the other would soon come and cover it . The other brother was interested in swimming and not in making a sand castle.

It went on for a while, when one of them got angry and ran away in to the dry sand to be with the rest of the family. The other brother now left alone, after a while, went back to his brother to call him back to the water.

The second picture is after they returned, when each decided to make a sand castle of his own. They chose the site which was too close to the edge of water, that they cloud not make one for all the time they were their, as the sea waves washed them away. 

I carried home some lessons from this observation of the two brothers. Their parents ignored the quarrel that was unfolding before others in the beach. They trusted their children to resolve their differences and to find a way forward.(There can be exceptions). The children did not give up on account of their differences. They were committed to play together rather than differences between keep them away from each other. Both children for the sake of finding a common interest were willing to let go of their personal preference. They had learned through their life experiences so far, that what they can do together can give them fun and it was waste  to prolong a quarrel. 

That very evening, some students came home to invite us for a nature walk, in the evening on the next day. I felt that a morning walk was better for bird watching. But the story of the two brothers encouraged me to agree to join in for the evening walk, when I realized that, evening was most suitable for the rest in the group. Let our own choices be made by  including the interests of others.

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)