The Sacred

​A school bus driver was driving a group of kids to their field trip early one morning.

This bus driver was known for being one of the best in the area; not only having a professional driver’s pedigree, but always picked up and dropped off the children promptly and quickly day in and day out.

And of course, the kids loved him; and even more than that, they respected him.

More so than the other drivers with their travails of chauffeuring rowdy and rambunctious kids to and fro, this driver never had a problem.

But his popularity would be tested today.

The morning fog was starting to dissipate in the heat of the early sunrise.

The fog was not so much a problem in itself, but it limited visibility up to 60 yards away, at which point a deer found himself in the middle of the road with no heads up to give either way of the impending collision…

...until it was too late.

Interestingly enough, the hit did not cause too much of a commotion in the back, but when the kids saw the look of concern on the bus driver’s face, they perked up.

Trickling out of the bus to see what had happened, the kids saw the deer on the side of the road; the driver having moved it there from the middle of the road.

The children had mixed reactions, some more visceral than others:

The more sensitive ones started to cry.
The more brash ones started to make fun.
The more inquisitive ones got as close as possible to get the best view.

Seeing all of this, the driver took immediate action.

“Children, I will say this and then I do not want any talking. This animal is in great pain, so much pain its spirit can barely hold onto its body. It is our duty, when we see those who suffer, to make sure that their suffering ends, whether that is making sure that the hungry eat, or the cold to be made warm, or the hate-filled to be shown love.”

“In every single thing that we do, we must show respect; that simply means that we need to be thoughtful. We need to pay attention to everything without judging, without acting, without doing anything ourselves, but only to take in what is happening around us…

...and then let it go.”