(Minghui.org) I used to be the director of counseling services at an art school. I want to share with you a touching story I have experienced.
One time after a meeting of parents and teachers, a tall man slowly approached me. Quietly he said, “Can I ask you a question?” I replied, “Sure go ahead.”
He told me that two years ago, his son Hao was in his first year of high school. The two had a verbal disagreement and Hao talked back disrespectfully. He was upset with his son and told him he would slap him if he talked back to him like that again. His son was going through a rebellious time and immediately talked back, and was slapped. Hao stared fiercely at him and left the room without saying a word. Since then, his son has not spoken to him.
He only has one son and has spent his life working hard and achieving success in his career to provide a solid foundation for his child. He doted on his son and believes that his son should not treat him this way. Even when they pass by each other, his son will ignore him, which breaks his heart. For more than two years, his son has always asked his mother to give him messages. When he tries to talk to his son, Hao always turns away.
He said, “Ms. Dong, I’m in pain and don’t know how to fix this. Please help me.”
Thinking that three feet of ice had not formed in a day and their relationship had been cold for so long, I suggested, “Could you give me some time, how about I spend some time in the morning helping him with some tutoring, maybe a year?” He said, “I really can't wait a year! I've already been miserable for over two years.”
“Alright, I will talk to him at night class, too. How about six months?” “Ms. Dong, I can't even wait for a month; even a week is unbearable to me.”
I handed him a flyer for an upcoming Shen Yun performance and suggested he take his son and wife to see the show. He looked puzzled, his eyes wide, as if asking, “Will this help?” I said, “We sometimes use art therapy in our counseling sessions. Your son is learning the cello, so this performance might benefit him. However, I can't guarantee immediate results, but I hope it will be helpful.”
Eventually, he bought three Shen Yun tickets. Since his son had not spoken to him for a long time, he drove there while his wife and son took a taxi.
After the show, he said to his wife and son, “I'll drive you home.” Hao obediently followed him into the car. After they were all in the car, his son in the back seat said, “Dad, have you eaten yet?”
Not longer after this, father called me and shared the story, saying, “Ms. Dong, I teared up. Hao hadn't spoken to me for so long, and the moment he did, he was concerned about whether I had eaten. At that moment, the unpleasantness and pain of the past two years vanished in an instant.”
I was very happy for them. He went on to say that not only that, Hao has become very understanding; in the past, when his mother cooked and asked him to eat, he would not move, but now when he sees his mother cleaning, he will take the initiative to help; and when his mother cooks, he will go into the kitchen to help with the washing of vegetables and rice. Hao has really changed a lot.
He asked me, “What is this all about?” I replied, “I don't know, I’ll talk to him.”
Later, I found time to talk to Hao. He said, “The Shen Yun program was great, but the story that made me cry was the ‘Split Mountain’ story.”
He said that Shenxiang in this story, whose mother was a goddess in heaven, came down to earth and married her father, which violated the rules of heaven, and was therefore captured by the heavenly soldiers and put in a cave. Her uncle, Erlang Shen (a noble and powerful Warrior God) used a big rock to seal the cave entrance. Shenxiang trained tirelessly day and night to save her mother, regardless of the changing seasons. Seeing this, Hao reflected, “Shenxiang knows filial piety at such a young age, but what about me?”
After completing her training, Shenxiang went to find her uncle, hoping he would release her mother. However, his uncle had his mission and refused to let her go. During the battle, she took advantage of a momentary opening and used her divine axe to split open the large rock blocking the cave entrance.
Hao said, “At that moment, the heavy rock in my heart was gone, too. I had always known that I was wrong, but I couldn’t bring myself to admit it to my father, which made me feel very sad. However, when I saw the rock split open, I felt like I could let go of everything too. I couldn’t think of anything else to say, so I asked my father, ‘Dad, have you eaten yet?’”
We all know that family conflicts are often difficult to resolve, but this father and son resolved their long-standing conflicts through an artistic performance. We hope that more people see Shen Yun, benefit from it, and be blessed by the show.