Fast
Life has been moving a little too fast lately. On the way home, I realized just how fast I have been going. I was in my own little world buzzing home from an intense day at work when I passed some people on the side of the road. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just after I passed them, something clicked. What had I just swerved to miss? Wait a minute...why were they all waving at me?
I turned the car around and stopped. It it me. There had been an accident. But I only saw one vehicle. Oh crap, I had swerved to miss a motorcycle wheel. I ran down the road to find four people frantic. "He hit us. We never even saw him."
"Where is he?" I asked. They pointed down the hill at least one hundred feet away. Deep under a sea of berry bushes I could see a dark lump. "Call 911." I ran down the hill. Thank God, the man was still alive.
I used to be an EMT, so the skills I had learned years ago took over and before I knew it, I was helping the fire department get the man ready for a helicopter ride to the trauma center. He was in bad shape. I watched the chopper take off with the man inside as I washed the blood off my hands and arms. Then, I walked back to the car to get home. I knew Carolyn would be worried. I was over an hour late and there were plenty of sirens. When I started home, it hit me.
I had been going too fast to notice some people that really needed my help. I hadn't even noticed the need right at my finger tips. How many of us do that daily? We pass the homeless man, avoid the guy/girl with problems at work. Yet a lot of us say that we want to make the world a better place. Maybe it's time to slow down a little. Take a little time this week to notice the needs around us and get involved.
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4 comments:
ho frightening. glad you are ok, could help, and i have posted about similar things on my blog before.
I really liked this post... very inspiring :-) I'm glad there are people like you in the world.... I remember when my husband had his accident.... it was a passing by man who stopped and called the EMT because his dad was too frantic. He stayed at my house until I got home and left for the hospital. He saved my husband's glasses for me (which was important at the time). I never even asked his name and I wish I would have, just to say thank you....
By the way, I'm just someone who enjoys reading your guy's blog :-)
That's convicting.
Wow, that's a powerful story. A friend recently shared a quote with me, that he thought was from Confucious: "He that is rowing cannot rock the boat." I think it makes sense to extend the quote to "Or reach out and help someone." So many of us are on this manic ride of work, consumption, debt, repeat... I think the project that your family is on at least has the potential to slow things down a bit. But it's certainly something we all struggle with, no matter how "simple" our life is.
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