Caught vs Taught

I remember vaguely the words that say,”character / virtue is caught instead of taught.” And i often wonder what does it mean. Another friend said,”you cannot give what is not there. You yourself must have it.” And again, this words alone, confuse me. It does inform me something, but it’s not very clear.

But i guess, this what probably they all mean by the above words…

I have been teaching my little girl to pray before meal. We are doing it consistently. And the result is not bad. But i sense it’s not there yet. After almost 1.5 years, she still does not do it automatically and naturally.

Yet, she saw a few times when my wife struggle to keep the food and i always pray. Now, when she hears mother is coughing, she immediately in prayer position, without i have to ask her. She is the one leading in prayer. And not only that, even when grandma is coughing (not as bad as mother), this little girl quickly rise up and pray.

I could see the difference (like heaven n earth). One is taught, and the second one is caught. Nobody taught her to do that. It’s something that she caught in a process.

Reminded me of myself. I learnt about prayer, not because i was taught. But because first i saw my grandma prayed on her knees. Somehow, that one experience stayed with me till today.

So yah, probably the best way to teach our children is not about teaching them the best thing or sending them to the best school. Probably the best way to teach our children is to get it right ourselves. The things which are closest and dearest to us, those are probably the things which would stick permanently in the mind and heart of our children.

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