Giving and Receiving Help
Sitting in a bus full of passengers from who knows where going to who knows where…, okay yeah it’s a bus of course everyone knows its final destination. Being in Asia we like sardines in a can and if you weren’t lucky to get a sit, the journey was going to be twice as long and exhausting standing. This bus is as humid as a rainforest. An elderly man gets on squeezing his way to where I am sitted and I am faced with a decision which most people sitting on this bus hate having to make.To give up your seat or to act like you have not noticed a thing. One is not a. bad person for not giving up their seat in my opinion we all get tired and have a long way to go but most importantly one should never do the
right thing with the wrong motives
T.D Jakes
In this situation giving up your seat because you fear the ridicule of others who see you or even worse getting up because you want people to see how much of a “good person” you are (sad that a lot of people act in the latter) , I have to admit I have found myself guilty of doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, things just don’t work out right.
The old man makes his way to the center of the bus where the seats are. I notice him but it’s like he is invisible to the rest who are sitting. I usually don’t, but this time I decide to give up my wonderful seat, he first denies it but after a while finally takes the seat and showers me with praises, so much that I am soaked in them. head to toe and if you were there you would see them dripping off my fingers.
I feel different now, not proud but a sense of strength and energy flowing through me, I ponder on this and ask myself why do I not only feel better but somehow happier and stronger after what I just did. My unprofessional conclusion to this is that helping someone with the right reasons gives one strength and joy. It makes sense to me because of the number of people who work in some charities and NGOs or non profits seem to know this secret, the pay back some receive can’t be wrapped in any quantitative sum of money.
But what about the person who is helped, the helpee ( English is wonderful isn’t it ). In my situation the old man didn’t ask but in another situation being able to ask for help shows how strong and courageous one is to admit their limits. We all fear vulnerability, or being seen incapable but if you are willing to seek help and receive it I think the reward is the same as you giving it to others. Which is being way better off than you were not asking for it.
In summary
- Crowded busses get awkward,
- Do things with the right intentions
- Give help when you can and ask when you need it
