i was recently reminded - by my son - about how funny i sounded when i shared a 'toilet story'
we all had joined a life skills and leadership development 'camp' for holistic growth - as participants - but maybe because of my grey hairs i was also given some additional responsibility of being 'in charge' of many young participants
many were teens - and some were away from family/home for the first time .. for the entire week. the camp was not planned for five-star experience - it was meant to be 'harsh' enough to induce growth - they wake up early in the morning - clean their own dishes (or use the same for their own future meals!) and show up for activities at expected times (at the call of a whistle) till late in the night.
on the first or 2nd day itself, i encountered a situation - i entered the shared (not so posh) washroom - and noticed the 'flush' task had not completed successfully - on further exploration (not elaborate) i could figure out it was probably one pin that had moved out of place from its required position in the lever/valve 'system' - and trying to put it in place took fraction of minute - i was hopeful it had 'fixed' it and yes, i was true - just pressing the knob made it work at first attempt - and the problem was solved!
i then asked the camp organizing team to share the story for life lesson (during the evening assembly - when they are required to be all attentive to official announcements) - and i started saying how i found un-flushed toilet - purpose was not to 'scare'/'scold' them (even my son was one amongst the crowd - easy to be kind and sensitive, when your 'own' skin is in the game, isn't it?)
then i explained the whole incident and said - if i were such a young boy in a place where i might have either 'broke' it or noticed it dys-functional i too might have chosen the safe option to ignore or walk away ... but many times (like in this case) life's problems are not that hard (or dirty) as they might appear - it probably needs just some careful observation and a simple fix OR talking to someone 'experienced' for whom it is easy enough to solve it in a jiffy .. so don't be shy - if you have a problem (or see something around) just try or get help and you might be pleasantly surprised!
i am not sure - how others took such a talk/lecture - but my son even now remembers it as 'funny' that i mentioned 'toilet story' .. :)
this note also reminded me of another (similar?) blog i had posted long back here
we all had joined a life skills and leadership development 'camp' for holistic growth - as participants - but maybe because of my grey hairs i was also given some additional responsibility of being 'in charge' of many young participants
many were teens - and some were away from family/home for the first time .. for the entire week. the camp was not planned for five-star experience - it was meant to be 'harsh' enough to induce growth - they wake up early in the morning - clean their own dishes (or use the same for their own future meals!) and show up for activities at expected times (at the call of a whistle) till late in the night.
on the first or 2nd day itself, i encountered a situation - i entered the shared (not so posh) washroom - and noticed the 'flush' task had not completed successfully - on further exploration (not elaborate) i could figure out it was probably one pin that had moved out of place from its required position in the lever/valve 'system' - and trying to put it in place took fraction of minute - i was hopeful it had 'fixed' it and yes, i was true - just pressing the knob made it work at first attempt - and the problem was solved!
i then asked the camp organizing team to share the story for life lesson (during the evening assembly - when they are required to be all attentive to official announcements) - and i started saying how i found un-flushed toilet - purpose was not to 'scare'/'scold' them (even my son was one amongst the crowd - easy to be kind and sensitive, when your 'own' skin is in the game, isn't it?)
then i explained the whole incident and said - if i were such a young boy in a place where i might have either 'broke' it or noticed it dys-functional i too might have chosen the safe option to ignore or walk away ... but many times (like in this case) life's problems are not that hard (or dirty) as they might appear - it probably needs just some careful observation and a simple fix OR talking to someone 'experienced' for whom it is easy enough to solve it in a jiffy .. so don't be shy - if you have a problem (or see something around) just try or get help and you might be pleasantly surprised!
i am not sure - how others took such a talk/lecture - but my son even now remembers it as 'funny' that i mentioned 'toilet story' .. :)
this note also reminded me of another (similar?) blog i had posted long back here
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