Home    

The Golden Rule (a small story about a big heart)

by Melissa Arel

My brother, Stephen, just turned 9 in September; he is the only boy in our family. He’s a talker – he just never seems to shut up.. and you can’t interrupt him or he starts ALL OVER again! But he is very kind-hearted, silly, sensitive and wise (yes, wise even at the age of 9!). I have a story that touched me when my mother told me about a situation that happened this past summer.




Stephen goes to Edgewood Elementary School in Bristol, and he gets teased unmercifully because he has a very fair complexion and very blonde hair (almost white). So the kids call him Milky, Whitey, Casper, etc.. all the names you could possibly think of associated with a skinny white boy.
So one day he came home crying because the kids in his class were picking on him, and being the way Stephen is – he would never fight back - instead he would just take it, but he takes it to the heart. He explained to my mother all that they said and how they would push him around and throw him on the ground.
Seeing your own son come home every single day crying because kids were teasing him on the bus to and from school, then during lunch and recess- hurts more than anything. So my mom said,
“Stephen, why don’t you fight back? Why don’t you stick up for yourself and tell them off?” and Stephen, who was 8 at the time said,
“Mom, I can’t break the Golden Rule. I would never treat some one the way I didn’t want to be treated. Even though they hurt me, I would never want to hurt them because I know how it feels.”
My mother’s mouth dropped open. Even at the age of 8, Stephen taught my mom the lesson of forgiveness.

People say that kids don’t know much? I say that sometimes they know more than adults for ‘… out of the heart, the mouth speaks.’

12/30/2002

Posted on 12/30/2002
Copyright © 2024 Melissa Arel

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Lori I Wolfe on 12/30/02 at 11:46 PM

So very touching and beautiful .... If only to see through the eyes of a child ... maybe the world would be a much better place to live... your brother is a treasure! =-)

Posted by Ken Harnisch on 01/02/03 at 08:56 PM

out of the mouths of babes shall come the wisdom of the ages....GREAT story Mel!

Posted by Jean Mollett on 05/28/03 at 12:43 AM

Hi Melissa, It's beautiful, yet so sad. Yet true. Sometimes it happens. Some people can be so cruel. Your little brother seems to be pretty smart & wise for his age. Young children are smarter than you think. Peace & Joy, Jean

Posted by Mo Couts on 06/23/11 at 01:48 AM

Oh wow...your mom has done a wonderful job of preparing him for life and he'll be a great man; this is a very big story! It was pleasant to read =)

Return to the Previous Page
 

pathetic.org Version 7.3.2 May 2004 Terms and Conditions of Use 1 member(s) and 2 visitor(s) online
All works Copyright © 2024 their respective authors. Page Generated In 0 Second(s)