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Once upon a time in a small village there lived a father and a son. The father was a spiritual man who loved to write poems and sing all the time. He was a deep thinker and he often wondered why people did the things they did. He understood a lot about how people work and what is really important in life. The rest of the villagers didn’t like him because they all worked very hard and they thought he was just lazy. The villagers thought, “This man and his son don’t contribute anything to the village, they just live off our hard work. They don’t deserve our generosity. We should teach them a lesson.” So the villagers got together and kicked the father and his son out of the village. So they went to the jungle just outside the village and left their home that they knew so well.
One day the villagers began talking among themselves and they got very excited. Even in the jungle, the father and son could hear the noise in the village as the people got more and more afraid. They said, “Oh no, Adi Momo is coming, Adi Momo is coming!” The son asked the father, “Adi Momo? What’s an Adi Momo?” The father patiently explained, “My son, Adi Momo is a man. Everyone thinks that Adi Momo is very mean and violent. Sometimes he comes around and acts really angry, he breaks things and scares people.”
The son asked, “But why?! Why would this man act like that??” “Well,” explained the father, “When Adi Momo was a child, his parents were not nice to him. They would tell him mean things like “You are not a good boy!” and “You can never do anything good.” They told him, You are ugly. We do not want to see your face.” Adi Momo was very sad. He believed what his parents told him. He believed he was ugly and mean. As he grew up, he became a very cruel person. Now whenever he comes around, he steals from the villagers and kicks puppies and acts really mean to everyone.”
Adi Momo was coming closer and closer to the village. He looked more like a beast than a man. His skin was thick and dark, he had scraggly, dirty hair in his face. He snarled and grunted as he walked. When Adi Momo came right to where the father and son were they both got a little scared.
Then all of the sudden the father started singing. He started singing Adi Momo’s name to a musical tune, “Adi Momo, Adi Momo, Adi Momo, Momo, Momo, Momo....” No one had ever talked to Adi Momo with kindness before. Adi Momo had never heard his name said in anything but a mean and scared way. He stopped walking. He started to listen to the song. “Adi Momo, Adi Momo, Adi Momo....” Slowly he started moving with the music. The son began to sing too, “Adi Momo, Adi Momo...” Adi Momo’s hands relaxed from the tight fists he was holding. Then Adi Momo did something no one had ever seen him do before..... he smiled!
From that day on, Adi Momo slowly started to change. People started being nice to him and he started being nice to them. He started helping people with their chores, helping them with their cleaning, helping to carry heavy things and doing farm work for them. This all happened a long time ago, and now, in that village, kids still say his name. They don’t say it out of fear they way they used to, but they sing his name with smiles. “Adi Momo, Adi Momo...” Can you think of someone you do not like? Can you say their name with love and kindness? Everyone needs love and kindness. Don’t you?