You sit in a nice restaurant, enjoying lunch. A few tables from you is a man, alone… broken. You try not to stare too blatantly at him. Every now and then you steal a peek. You wonder what’s breaking him so terribly. You wonder if you might be able to help. You don’t want to intrude, but it really seems he needs someone. You finish your lunch and leave the restaurant. You decided he probably wanted to be alone.
In another story, you play in the cold snow with your friends. You see a woman walk across a frozen river. Without warning she disappears beneath the ice. You rush to the river and witness something you won’t ever forget. Underneath the ice you see a woman struggling as her life is slipping away. Sadly the current has pulled her away from the hole she fell through. You run down stream and start bashing your fists against the ice. Remarkable, you punch a hole through the ice. You reach into the icy waters. Your eyes are shooting all over the place frantically trying to find her. Just before she passes you by, you notice her and grab at her… In that moment you realize this is her last chance of surviving. You realize that if you miss, she is dead. You are the only one in the world who can save her now. In this fleeting second an entire world can be created… or destroyed.
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The situations in these stories are very similar. However in the one, we decide to run and help. The other, we walk away. It’s so much easier to just walk away. When we’re not confronted by the urgency of the situation, we excuse ourselves for walking away. Next time you see a stranger in pain; try pretending the urgency is dire. Will you walk away?
if i see a stranger in pain i may not go and talk to him just because i dont wanna disturb him, think he might wanna be alone.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe i look at him and smile. Just to show i care.I dunno... And if he smiles me back a conversation may start :)
But yes i agree with you. We easily walk away without thinkin if there is smt we can do. But why???
What do you think Louis? Is it because we don't care?
Personally I think it’s a defense mechanism. We find it difficult to associate with stranger. If it was easy, we would break down if we watched the news, or drove past someone living on the streets. We distance ourselves so that we don’t get hurt by their pain. But love teaches us, if you don’t make yourselves vulnerable, you’ll never love. In that spirit we need to overcome our fear and not walk away. We need to care for someone we don’t know.
ReplyDeleteI'll walk away if I dont see any urgency signs.
ReplyDeleteBut if the stranger come to me and asked for help I'll help, but I will never make the first move.
This is INSANELY true...
ReplyDeleteI'm that person that politely smiles when I walk by, reach out somehow...
intense!!
ReplyDeletewhen you are dealing with 'emotions', or the things you can't really tangibly touch or see, it seems that people shy away more.. what can they do to help? but when it is life threatening, or some physical thing, people take more notice. so very true..
When someone is obviously going to die at that point we feel we've earned the right to step in and help without being asked but until then it is indeed so hard. How do we just intrude into someone else's life? there have been times I have been seen crying in some public place and as much as i would have loved someone to come up to me and say the perfect right thing, chances are they would have not known what to say, would have made it worse perhaps.
ReplyDeleteFor me...because of all the pain and suffering I have been through, it is my desire to help others so very much. I think there is a point where we need to find a healthy balance of helping someone. It can be harmful if you help too much. I have...I have given and given and helped not just family but even some co-workers...and was 'burned'.
ReplyDeleteI want to help...but I want to help those in true need...not helping to ENABLE. Like my younger brother who is a cocaine addict. He needs serious help. But, he needs the RIGHT help. Just giving him money, knowing he is an addict is not truly helping him...it is ENABLING him to not get better.
I like to smile at people I dont know. I feel that when a stranger smiles at me, it really lifts my spirit - even if its for a short while. Giving someone a friendly smile is a universal language, its my way of reaching out to a stranger in need. It shows that someone out there notices you, and that you are not alone. And if that stranger really needs to talk, hopefully they will feel comfortable talking to me cause I paid them a little attention.
ReplyDeletenot sure - need more time to think about that - know what i should say morally - am I brave enough ... ?
ReplyDeleteI would try to help both people. I have been alone and scared and that is horrible. The first seems like a easy situation, but the second is horrifying. One if she fell through the ice you could also fall; not only that but I think that I'm not strong enough to pull someone up. But there is no thought, I would give it my all and pray for God's all. Do onto others as you would want them to do onto you. You just have to do all that you can.
ReplyDeleteI've been guilty of not wanting to help; when I don't trust the situation and think it is just a death trap, it is hard for me not to freeze (half of me wants to help and half of me wants to run). Lucky for me I have always been with someone else that helped me through the fear.