Making a difference

Some time ago, I was out of the country attending some industry meetings when I received an interesting phone call. There is nothing that out of the ordinary to say I received a telephone call. What is out of the ordinary was that it was my teenage son. I was not sure up to that point whether or not my children knew that cell phones had the ability to allow one to communicate by live voice one to another. I was sure they thought that the only communication a cell phone was capable of was texting. Even I have fallen into the trap of communicating with my children in my own house through text messaging, I might tell them to turn off the television and go to bed, I might tell them to politely get rid of the neighbourhood kids before I come down and tell them to leave (out loud). I think you get my point.  So when I got an actual phone call from my son I was surprised to say the least. My oldest son Sammy was calling to tell me that he had been on a school trip for one of his classes and was visiting a community agency that helped people find work. While this was interesting the prime reason for the call was to relate to me that he had met one of the staff members that recognized him and that he was my son. This wonderful lady engaged Sammy and shared with him her experience bringing her son into my clinic where I had assessed her child relative to some of the difficulties he was facing at school. The point that she made to Sammy was  that her visit to the clinic had changed her child's life for the positive and also hers as a result. Sammy was obviously moved enough by this experience to call me and relate this fact to me with something akin to pride in his voice.

As I thought about the implications of this experience for my son, it became apparent to me that perhaps Sammy did not really understand that each of us has the ability to affect positive change in the lives of those around us. Sure a teenager has heard the rhetoric but have they really seen the effect of lives changed by their influence. The message I took upon myself to share with Sammy upon my return was that each of us is responsible for our interactions with those around us in every context, work, school, social etc.  Each of us has the power to be a positive influence for change in the lives of those we come in contact with. 

As it happened, this same woman brought her son in to see me with impacted wax in his ears a few weeks later and we were able have a discussion about Sammy's experience and how her willingness to share this positive experience could influence a teenager's view of social responsibility.  I was hopeful that Sammy could learn an important life lesson about how our interactions can influence positive change. What surprised me was that in my discussions this woman volunteered that the class that came in on this field trip was somewhat unruly and disrespectful yet she was impressed by how well behaved Sammy was and how he was respectful in his interaction and engaging while in conversation.  I was obviously trying to teach a lesson that perhaps was already understood on some level by my child.