I was standing in line to get on the bus and a woman wearing dark glasses and using a cane stepped off. She then stood on the corner announcing to passersby: "I need help! I need help!" People looked, but no one stopped. I went up to her and asked where she needed to go. Turns out she needed to connect to another bus and the stop was a block away; she would also need to cross two streets to get there. "Take my arm. I'll walk you there," I said.
As we walked, she talked. Loudly. She told me of the eye infection that temporarily robbed her of her sight - even showing me her clouded eyeballs. She showed me the drops she needed to take. She told me that she lived with her father and that all they had was his old age pension cheque to live on. They received about $1000/month. Their rent was $973. They were immigrants, probably Haitian judging from her accent. She said sometimes people helped them. Sometimes not. "Here in Canada, about half the people are good. The other half are not-so-good. You, you are a good samaritan," she told me.
I got her onto her bus and asked the bus driver to help her out. Then I turned and walked away. Just like that. I hope she was able to reach her destination.
Later in the day, I was reflecting on this encounter. Here is what I learned from this small, blind, loud Teacher:
- Getting help can be as easy as asking for it, clearly and without hesitation. I've been procrastinating on a task for weeks because, quite honestly, I don't know how to go about doing it. The logical thing would be to ask for help. If I nudge pride & ego out of the way, I can do that.
- I need to look at the roots of my financial insecurity, which has been plaguing me lately. Compared to so many, I am rich beyond their imagination. There is so much for me to be grateful for.
Pace e bene,
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