If you’re feeling down about the state of humanity and your place in it, this book by Catherine Ryan Hyde will give you hope.
When a lonely teenage boy answers the pleas of a desperate elderly lady in his apartment building, he has no idea how he (and she) will be changed by this move of kindness.
This story is a statement about how our country has moved from neighborhoods who socialize together and care about each other to a me-first and I-don’t-want-to-get-involved mindset of fear and indifference. It’s also about goodness and having the strength to take the first step.
Most people hurry by, and the more I try to reach out, the faster they hurry. ‘Oh, no,” they say, not with their lips but with their hurrying. They say, ‘You are not my family, or my friend, you are not my little tribe. You are a them, you are not an us.’ And I know that the very fact that I would speak to them across those well recognized dividing lines makes them feel they were right to be afraid of me all along. This is how people are these days, I’m afraid.
This story is also the very essence of the quote by Taylor Hanson, “To the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the world.” Think about that for a minute…what comes to your mind first? Obviously your children when they were small, your spouse maybe? But what about the wheelchair bound (or elderly, or short) person at the supermarket struggling to get things from the shelf or put their items on the checkout conveyor belt, or put them in their car. Do you help them or do you pretend not to see them as you hurry on by, obviously to important to help out this person in need. Or what about the woman (or man) who has three children screaming about wanting candy, obviously on the verge of tears (or anger) and $10 short of the total. Do you give the cashier the missing money or do you think, ” Guess she’s gonna have to put something back. I made it through, so will she” ? What if this same group of kids is behind you in the drive thru at McDonald’s, you can see the drivers face and know she is about to break. How about paying her bill when you pay your own? Just think of how it would have made you feel in her same situation. Would it have made you feel happy, relieved? Maybe you just restored another persons faith in humanity? Maybe you were being used to answer a prayer? I know the fear of being rebuffed or embarrassed sometimes keeps us from doing a kindness. Then we think about it, weighing the options for so long that the moment passes and we either feel relief or guilt. I know, I’ve been there. Next time, put yourself in their shoes, if it was you struggling, would you welcome the intervention of a stranger? What’s the worst that can happy? They snap at you, “I can do it myself” or “I don’t want your charity”. Maybe, but they might also say, “Thank you , I don’t know what I would have done without your help”, or “Bless you, you’re the answer to my prayers.” At the very worst you get embarrassed, contrary to popular belief, this won’t kill you, no matter how many times it happens. And at the very best…you made a new friend. Either way, you tried to do the right thing and that my friend is a wonderful feeling.
I’m not trying to be preachy, this is something I also struggle with, because I am easily embarrassed, but I’m learning and trying to change. I still think about a missed opportunity. One day I was in the drive through at Sonic and I saw a young man and his dog. He was obviously down and out. When I saw him walk out of Walmart, I felt the strongest urge to buy extra food for him and his dog. But, I talked myself out of it and by the time I made it through the line I couldn’t see him any more so I told myself it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. That was about three years ago and I still think about it and it makes me feel guilty. I heard a speaker once say that when you can’t forget something seemingly small like that it’s because you ignored something God had put on your heart to do. I still look for him when I am in Delta Colorado, and hope someday to see him again so I can buy him and his dog a meal like I should have done in the first place. Of course I also hope that he is in a better situation now and doesn’t need my meal.
So now that I am waaaaay off track, I hope you read this book and you finish it with hope in your heart.