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It began last Tuesday with an unattended toddler and ended with the artisans discovering they had twice as much work to do to finish what they had started. Eight Tibetan monks had been pouring sand to create a mandala at Union Station in Kansas City MO as part of a year long tour to raise funds to replace their destroyed temple.

The monks had been halfway to completion of the intricate design and had left for the day, when a security tape shows the young boy slip under a security tape and do a dance throughout the design. His mother evidently had been bringing a package to the post office there and is also seen on the tape. She is seen returning to the mandala, grabbing her son by the arm and then walking out of camera range.

"No problem. We didn't get despondent. We have three days more. So we will have to work harder, " said Geshe Lobsang Sumdup, leader of the group from Drepung Gomang Monastery.

While they may have no problem with the outcome of this, I do. It seems to be a typical behavior today. Not a month goes by when we aren't faced with Amber Alerts and searches for lost children and still, there are those who will leave a child unattended in a public location. Maybe it was easier to leave him where he could be amused and quiet for a few minutes but that is no excuse. Worse I feel, is that the mother did nothing to inform anyone or apologise for the destruction her child obviously did. Another example of not taking responsibility and a poor example for a child to learn by.