He seemed very pleased when I commented positively on his hat. It looked like it was a print of a painting by one of the Masters.
We started chatting and I told him about the Buddhas I had been given and asked if he wanted one. He was really attracted to the beautiful glass Kuan Yin. I told him that Kuan Yin was associated with the qualities of compassion and kindness.
I asked him if there was anyone in his life who epitomised kindness.
His face lit up and he beamed, “My mum !”
It was so lovely hearing him talk about his mum. She had obviously helped him out during very tough times. I got the sense she was the most important person in his life, the person who provided a stable safety net in a tumultuous world.
He explained that his mum was currently looking after his own two young children and also his sister’s three children as she was too unwell to look after them.
He had been living on the streets himself in the past but was on his way to an appointment that very day to Human Services where they were trying to sort out a house and furniture for him.
He needed to have his own stable accommodation before he could get his children back living with him.
But meanwhile his mum looked after her 5 grandchildren to save them from going into foster care.
In my time working in Welfare in school settings I met numerous grandparents who had taken on the same selfless responsibility. Love and big open hearts gave them the energy to go beyond what they thought they were capable of.
As this young man readied himself to go off to his appointment he sincerely thanked me for the gift of the little Buddha and he spontaneously gave me a warm hug.
As I walked away, I could well imagine the beautiful hugs he must give his mum.

 

Buddha donated by Lynne

Port Fairy Australia img_0495