Today, our society often places so much emphasis on being important, becoming a star or celebrity or icon etc. No one cares about the other. Selfishness has eaten to the core of the "earth", making mankind worst than the irrational animals we have around us.
Brotherhood, gone;
Friendship, gone;
Community, polluted;
Individuality, embraced;
"Me, myself and I", exhorted;
Self, worshiped;
Competition, played;
Rivalry, accepted;
Sadly,
Humanity, lost! - Apostle Julius Ikhide-Iyke Etaifo
So many walked through life without a spark of that blissful moments with other people. They are dried.
They are still in search for that best moments that will beautifully colour their life.
When you hear the word 'disabled,' people immediately think about people who can't walk or talk or do everything that people take for granted. Now, I take nothing for granted. But I find the real disability is people who can't find joy in life and are bitter. - Teri Garr
People fail to realise that at the end of the day, people are remembered by the way they treated others. What have you done today to make a difference in someone else's life? It can be anything, big or small. After all, helping others makes us feel better, too.
The story (the last cab ride) below will inspire you.
Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. One time I arrived in the middle of the night for a pick up at a building that was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.
Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away. But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So I walked to the door and knocked.
“Just a minute,” answered a frail, elderly voice.
I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80’s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase.
The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.
“Would you carry my bag out to the car?” she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.
“It’s nothing,” I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.”
“Oh, you’re such a good boy,” she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”
“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.
“Oh, I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice.”
I looked in the rear view mirror. Her eyes were glistening.
“I don’t have any family left,” she continued. “The doctor says I don’t have very long.”
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. “What route would you like me to take?” I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, “I’m tired. Let’s go now.”
We drove in silence to the address she had given me.
It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
“How much do I owe you?” she asked, reaching into her purse.
“Nothing,” I said.
“You have to make a living,” she answered.
“There are other passengers.”
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.
“You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,” she said. “Thank you.”
I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.
I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away? On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life. We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware—beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
When that woman hugged me and said that I had brought her a moment of joy, it was possible to believe that I had been placed on earth for the sole purpose of providing her with that last ride.
I do not think that I have ever done anything in my life that was any more important.
Your patience, random act of kindness and intentional empathy could be all you need to touch a life.
A true story by Kent Nerburn
A wonderful story.
The cab driver gave his one night to the lady’s last night. It didn’t make any difference to his life but that lady lived her life again in that last drive.
Without any aorta of doubt, in life its the simple things that we take for granted that often make people happy.
All of us are given opportunities such as this in life…a chance to learn a profound life-altering lesson from what we might choose to let pass as an insignificant moment. It is about being present, aware, and making a choice to open oneself to the wisdom the Universe lays on our doorstep.
Life demands that we reach out to everyone especially to the elderly and poor simply because they will always be with us, and it is our moral duty.
There are lots of reason why we should be nice to people we come across. Tomorrow still remains a mystery you know. What will happen in 10years time? Where and to whom do you think the wind of life will blow you to in 4years time? What goes around, comes around.
The second story today will blow your mind off. It is arguably the most beautiful story I have received on whatsapp!
READ...
A lady worked at a meat distribution factory.
One day, when she finished with her work schedule, she went into the meat cold room (Freezer) to inspect something, but in a moment of misfortune, the door closed and she was locked inside with no help in sight.
Although she screamed and knocked with all her might, her cries went unheard as no one could hear her.
Most of the workers had already gone, and outside the cold room it's impossible to hear what was going on inside.
Five hours later, whilst she was at the verge of death, the security guard of the factory eventually opened the door. She was miraculously saved from dying that day.
When she later asked the security guard how he had come to open the door, which wasn't his usual work routine, this was his explanation:
"I've been working in this factory for 35 years. Hundreds of workers come in and out every day, but you're one of the few who greet me in the morning and say goodbye to me every evening when leaving after work. Many treat me as if I'm invisible. Today, as you reported for work, like all other days, you greeted me in your simple manner, 'Hello'. But this evening after working hours, I curiously observed that I had not heard your 'Bye, see you tomorrow'. Hence, I decided to check around the factory. I look forward to your 'hi' and 'bye' every day because they remind me that I am someone. By not hearing your farewell today, I knew something had happened. That's why I was searching every where for you."
Moral Lesson to reflect upon:
Be humble, lovable and loving.
Love and respect those around you.
Try to have an impact on people who cross your path every day, you never know what tomorrow will bring.
Always remember it's nice to be important, but its more important to be nice.
No one knows tomorrow!
Think!
Live Out Loud!
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