Be helpers

I found this quote to be quite reassuring today during the aftermath of the tragedy in Boston:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers - so many caring people in this world.” — Mister Rogers

There have been too many tragedies lately and since we don't have live television in the house, the children have been mostly shielded from the endless coverage. As I've said before, they are still afraid of the evils that don't exist, like ghosts in our basement, and I'm not ready to introduce them to the ones that do. I try to teach them to be helpers instead and I try to set a good example. It takes so little to be giving and generous and yet there are adults who still don't understand. It is easy to think that you are good person when such evil people get excessive press and attention. The bar for behavior gets set rather low unfortunately.

People wonder what they can do to help when they are so far from these tragedies. We can start by helping the people around us... the ones who ask and the ones who don't ask. And if you are asked, don't negate the good work you do by finding a way to sneak in a comment about how much of an inconvenience it was for you, especially to the person you are helping. You may have helped physically but you have added guilt to them emotionally. It costs nothing to keep your mouth shut. We can also work to be more generous with our time and our money. Everyone talks about the small acts they witness, like in the coffee drive thru line. It costs so little to spread goodwill that way. It costs so little to be generous, even in situations where you feel you shouldn't have to pay, where you feel someone owes you. How little it would cost you to set a good example for everyone. I think generous acts are contagious and inspiring. Sometimes pride blinds us from seeing that though and at what cost to our souls? What cost to our society? You never know what crosses people are carrying around with them and how being kind could change their path. Post Secret has shared many secrets from people who have been saved by unexpected kindness. We need more unexpected kindness and this is a good week to start.