As I woke up from my nap, I saw a man standing in the isle a few rows in front of me. He was leaning over his buddy, who had oxygen mask over his face and vomit on his shirt. He was obviously very sick.
As I removed my i-pot earplugs, I saw the man gently touch his buddy’s shoulder and heard him ask: “do you have enough oxygen? Are you okay?” His eyes reflected sadness and concern. It’s not easy to see a person you care about being in such a pain.
At that moment, I heard the landing wheels come down. We were ready to land in Pittsburgh. The man didn’t move. There was obviously nothing he could do for his friend but he couldn’t pull himself away from the sick man.
Finally, the Flight Attendant told the concerned man he needed to sit down for a few minutes while the plane landed. The man sat down a couple of rows behind the sick man. His worried eyes didn’t leave his friend.
The plane landed smoothly and as it was taxiing towards the gate, the Flight Attendant spoke to someone over the radio. She told that person she had a sick passenger and needed ambulance. The good news was, she informed, she had a doctor on board.
The concerned man was a doctor. He had never seen the sick man before. He probably dealt with hundreds of sick people every week and saw people dying every day. But his concern for this one man was total.
This reminded me of the story of a man who walked a beach and saw a boy throw strange starfishes into the ocean. The man asked the boy “Why are you doing this, there are thousands of starfishes stranded here on the beach and you’ll only be able to safe a few? What does it really matter?” The boy didn’t hesitate, threw another one in and answered “It matter to this one and it matters to me!”
Doctors are often trained to be indifferent. Not to take in their patient’s suffering. And that’s probably often necessary. But that also often makes them treat clients as machines. Or as money making cows.
We too are often tempted to do the same. To forget about how people around us feel and go after our own selfish goals. Look out for number one. We of course have to take care of ourself but not on the expense of others. And true happiness never comes from anything we get ourselves.
There is a fundamental psychological system in every human being that prevents us from being happy unless we make a difference in somebody else’s life. We can achieve anything but if we do not have the abstract purpose of making a difference, we’ll never be happy.
I’ve done many things I’m not proud of. We all make mistakes in life and I’ve done more than my share. I would even go so far to say I’ve made more mistakes than right things.
It used to keep me up at night. Bothering thoughts rolled around my head. What I could have done different. What if I’d done this or that instead of that and this.
Today when I go to sleep, I see the happy faces of people I’ve helped.
I see Tracy sleeping in her husband’s arms and them waking up refreshed and happy together. She doesn’t keep them up with her snoring any more. Imagine, only a few weeks ago, they were ready to divorce.
I see the sparkling partner-glow around Janet and Collin, now that they’re enjoying passionate, satisfied lovemaking several times a week. Their love, passionate and intimacy has grown to the level that they’re finally ready to have a baby.
And I see Gal get back on track again. She was so exhausted from her migraine, she couldn’t work or take care of her kids any more. She was stuck in bed 2-3 days a week and had no joy left. As my eyelids turn to lead, I see her in the amusement park with her kids and husband, laughing and crying from joy.
I haven’t met or even talked to these people. They’re out there enjoying their lifes. But it gives me joy and peace of mind to know that my writing has a little bit to do with their happiness.
There is a story that describes heaven and hell (this is a metaphor not religious).
And guess what, it looks exactly the same…
A big dining table filled with the most delicious feast you could imagine. People sitting on both sides of the table. The only problem is that the spoons and forks are so long, there is no way for anybody to eat with them. That is hell! Heaven looked exactly the same. Except, now everyone is feeding the person across from them.
True happiness only comes from gifting others.
The doctor in the plane didn’t just treat the sick man. At the moment of struggling for his life, the sick man had somebody with him who said “You can do it”. And I’m sure, this experience will ad to the doctor’s sweetest dreams.
Warm regards,
Christian Goodman
What an inspiring story…it really renews your faith in human nature.
That was a very touching story and also very true. Give with a pure heart and it will be given to you 100 fold. It’s the Law!
In the Bible: Luke, Chapter 6, Verse 1 - Otherwise known as “The Golden Rule” could be the theme of this article
This is a beautiful wonderful writing. I am sending it to my daughter, my grandson and granddaughter and friends because, of course, you are right.
Warm regards,
Sarah Legrand
Enjoyed this story so much and it was a great reminder. Sometimes we get so caught up in our lives, we forget others. I was going through depression and my doctor told me to do something for someone else, so if a doctor recommends it, and especially God’s Word tells us to do it…and we KNOW how we feel when we do things for others…why don’t we do it more?