Intent , Action and Outcome
My five-year-old daughter taught me a very interesting lesson in life, the one that I always knew but forget to recall often!
It was a very early start for us this morning. I was in the kitchen making her breakfast while she was in slightly an exploratory mood, or so it seemed. Unusual for mornings, she was intensely examining some toy car, drawing something that only she understood and basically did not have time to waste.
Since there was no noise at all from the living room, I came out of the kitchen to see the door was open. I asked her if she knew why the door was open or who opened it so early in the morning, given that it was still dawn.
She simply said, "I don't know amma. I did not open it either. I just turned this knob."
The answer came as a beautiful thought: Intention is different from Action and definitely different from the Outcomes.
She wanted to explore the doorknob - Intention
She turned the knob to see how it is working -Action
The door opened. - Outcome
I cannot blame my child because her statement was very clearly honest.
It's true that sometimes what is intended and what results from an action is very different and causes a lot of misunderstanding in practically all places and walks of life.
Not easy, but once in a while, it helps to question the intention rather than judge or react on the outcome!
It was a very early start for us this morning. I was in the kitchen making her breakfast while she was in slightly an exploratory mood, or so it seemed. Unusual for mornings, she was intensely examining some toy car, drawing something that only she understood and basically did not have time to waste.
Since there was no noise at all from the living room, I came out of the kitchen to see the door was open. I asked her if she knew why the door was open or who opened it so early in the morning, given that it was still dawn.
She simply said, "I don't know amma. I did not open it either. I just turned this knob."
The answer came as a beautiful thought: Intention is different from Action and definitely different from the Outcomes.
She wanted to explore the doorknob - Intention
She turned the knob to see how it is working -Action
The door opened. - Outcome
I cannot blame my child because her statement was very clearly honest.
It's true that sometimes what is intended and what results from an action is very different and causes a lot of misunderstanding in practically all places and walks of life.
Not easy, but once in a while, it helps to question the intention rather than judge or react on the outcome!
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