FOR many adults who have been exposed to the joys and cruelty of society, there is a thing or two we can learn from the innocence of some children.
On October 4, we celebrated Teacher's Day. It is common to find in many schools students giving their teachers different kinds of gifts to show their appreciation to them. Among the most common gifts include flowers, cakes, and even chocolates.
However, Grade 3 student Legaspi Guid Jr. went viral during Teacher's Day after he surprised his teacher, Claudine Talon, with a chicken as a gift.
Talon, who goes by Talon Claude on Facebook, said she was surprised by the gift her student gave.
Talon, a teacher at Banwalan Primary School, shared with SunStar Davao on Monday that a day before the celebration, she asked her students to bring anything they could give to the teachers.
"One of the students asked if he can bring a chicken. I said yes as long as it is from the heart and his parents are aware. I told them they can give whatever they want," she said in Filipino during an online interview with SunStar Davao.
To her surprise, the student did bring a chicken as a gift for her.
"Na-shocked po ako. Haha, sabi ko nga kala ko joke lang, yon pala totoo pala po (I was shocked. I thought it was just a joke)," Talon said.
Many were touched by the story of the teacher and her student. Many praised the action of the child.
We can safely say that the child may not come from a truly well-off family. He and maybe his parents have decided that this is something that they can give to the teacher to show their appreciation. Likewise, Talon may have truly inspired the child that he gave her a chicken to show his appreciation and gratitude to her.
The student displayed an act of gratitude, which many in our society fail to do. Gratitude is defined in the dictionary as "the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness."
In our current society, we fail to say a simple thank you to random acts of kindness. Some cannot even say thank you to a guard opening the door or to a waiter serving their food or to a taxi driver for bringing them safely to their destination.
People nowadays are so focused on the negativities surrounding them that the only thing they can do is complain about almost everything and spread toxicity around them.
Guid's act of gratitude is a reminder to us that we must always be grateful for the good things around us. We do not always have to give gifts to the people who extended kindness to us, a simple and heartfelt "thank you" would always go a long way.