A father and son were hiking in a mountainous area when suddenly the son fell down a small slope. He was not hurt but the shock of falling made him call out “Ahhh” to his surprise he heard the sound “Ahhh” echo back to him.

Having not heard an echo before, he thought someone was making fun of him. He retaliated with “it’s not funny.” Only to have it repeated back to him. He became angry and started to yell “who are you? I don’t like you.” Again his voice resounded back to him.

His father tried to explain that it was just an echo of his voice resounding back to him. The father called out “It’s a lovely day.” Then “It’s a lovely day” came back. Then the father said “I love you” then “I love you” came back.

“Whatever you say comes back to you if you are angry then anger is returned but if you are kind then kindness comes back to you.”

The father took his son’s hand and said, “Let us together tell the echo we are having a great day.” Together they called out, and the echo responded. They laughed, and the father smiled at his son and said: “Remember son, how you react to life, is how life will react to you.”

Time passed, and the son was married and moved to the city. He worked hard, and although he and his wife loved each other dearly, their daily workload was taken its toll on their relationship.

The father invited his son and daughter in law to come to celebrate his wife’s birthday for the weekend. The father noticed the tension between the two, so the next morning he asked his son if he remembered the first time he had heard an echo. The son nodded.

“When you spoke in anger that is what came back to you. Both you and your wife are exhausted, the joy has gone out of your relationship. The angry words spoken are just like the echo. They are rebounding back. Remember son how you react is a reflection of how she will react to you. It’s just like the echo.”

The son saw his wife approaching, and he told her how lovely she looked. She smiled and said “Thank you, darling. So what are you and your dad chatting about?”

The son looked at his father and smiling said “Echoes.”

So often in life, we feel tired, disappointed and unhappy with the way our lives are progressing. Things that once were enjoyable, the relationships we share seem to have changed.

Instead of looking at others we need to look within, our attitude often is a mirror of the way people act around us. Things we once enjoyed, we now take for granted. Our actions can cause consequences.

A victim mentality creates a victim lifestyle. What we give out in this life is what we get back. Like the echo, how we react to others sometimes causes others to react to us.

Let our echo resound of joy and laughter.

– Nancy