Message

Genla is not perfect.

He loses his temper sometimes.

But then he comes back to us and says, “I’m sorry.”

One of the house mothers said,

“We accept his apology.”

It may sound like a funny little incident,

but it reveals something essential about his character.

She’s just one of the house mothers—

and yet, she forgives the leader of the entire community.

It feels upside down.

But Genla says,

“It’s good for me too. It releases my tension.”

He never wants to be above anyone.

He says,

“I am equal to everybody.”

Eventually, I began to understand his way of gaining trust.

He once told a student:

“I’m no different from you.

I make mistakes—lots of them.

If you don’t like me, I don’t like you either.

If you don’t want to lead the group and prefer to leave, you’re free to go.

And if you find a better place, please take me with you.

I’d like to go there too.”

He doesn’t punish children.

He doesn’t lecture them.

He tries to stand beside them.

I’ve tried to do the same,

but that approach doesn’t work so well for me.

I still have a lot to learn.

Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community