These words I hear every night in my sleep, are the last words I ever heard my dad say. So many good people have told me that I am helping my dad even to this day. The word help is such a huge word, it is such a powerful word, yet it remains one of the most moving words when it is no longer a word but an action of reality even in its most simple form. When you see a blind person sitting on a bench with a tin cup in front of him, he doesn’t have to ask for a certain amount of money because anything given to him is more than he had and a great help compared to none. When we drop our change in the little boxes with the muscular dystrophy sign no matter how small the amount we just help make a life-changing difference in someone’s life. When we hold the door open for the person behind or even in front of us as we enter or exit a building we just demonstrated an act of kindness, respect, and thoughtfulness. We helped someone see that these things do still exist in our world today. When we see a stray animal lost, and hungry, feed them and try to find their home. We helped both a pet and its owner reunite the love and companionship they feared to be lost forever. When we see a person digging in a trashcan for food to eat, we give them food. We just helped someone realize there is compassion for the needy in humanity. When someone has lost their home, business, or family member we offer them food, shelter, and anything we can to ease the pain and burden of their loss. We helped them in such a way that we hope and pray they and EVERYONE else could help us if we were in the same position they were. So many never think about helping someone else until they themselves need help and it isn’t there, or perhaps it is there and then they think of how thoughtless they had been. We never think of helping the stranded motorist on the cold dark highway, until we find ourselves stranded and alone with no one there to help us. We never think of holding the door for the other person until it is slammed in our faces. We never think about stopping short of the vehicles in front of us at the red-light to let that person trying to enter the traffic from a business beside us until we are stuck there for hours waiting cursing everyone that blocks us in. We never know how much it helps us cope with whatever is going on in our lives just having someone to listen to us, to help us understand, to calm us when we are afraid, to reassure us that we are going to be okay and that we are not alone until we are alone, there is no one listening, and we are not okay. We have all heard the old saying, “We never know what we had until it is gone”. I know I have personally experienced the good and the bad of everything I have just written, just as most of you have that just read it. I know also that it does not matter to me if you hold the door open for me, I’m going to hold it for you. It doesn’t matter if you let me in the traffic at the red light, I’m going to let you in. It doesn’t matter if you feed me when I’m hungry, when I get something to eat I’ll share it with you. It doesn’t matter if you give me money when I have none, If I have it and you need it I’ll give t to you. It doesn’t matter if you think I am rich or poor, a bum or vagrant. It doesn’t matter if you believe I am a Christian or an atheist. I know who I am, I know what I am. I no the definition of morality, respect, courtesy, compassion, and integrity. I don’t need to follow the examples I set them. If you have one ounce of compassion, one-grain of integrity you should be setting examples too. If you believe asking for help is wrong I feel pity for you. And I can promise you if you have not yet before you take your last breath of life on this earth you will ask someone for help in some way. I hope for your sake there is someone there much like me when you do. If not you will most definitely get exactly what you have given…. Nothing.
Simply my Thoughts
Dean Butler
