Let's Talk About Common Decency

Yesterday, my mom was on her way to work when a cyclist cut her off. To avoid hitting him, she swerved, but her car hit an ice patch. She skidded into a ditch, wedging her vehicle between two trees. 

The damage to the vehicle was not as bad as it could be, but the front was pretty banged up. My mom was safe, and that's the important thing. The shocking fact?  No one pulled over and offered assistance. Nobody stopped to help. Not a single person went to check if she was alright.

Thankfully, she was safe, but this incident has me thinking about how people interact today. We are all trapped in our own worlds. We alienate ourselves from each other to the point that it is almost taboo to help one another. Sure, we think about stopping. But the bigger part of our mind tells us to move on. That person will be fine, and we're in a hurry. Someone else will help them.

But if not you, who is that someone else? We are all, after all, thinking that same thing, pushing the job onto someone else who will just hand it on.

Therein lies the problem. Stopping to help someone should not be seen as a job. I wouldn't go as far to say obligation, but yes, I actually would. It is our duty to each other as humans to help each other along, even in the simplest ways.  Besides, who doesn't benefit from the small natural-high one achieves after doing something good? By helping others we bring light to them and ourselves. 

Through even the smallest acts, we can pass on infectious kindness. Of course, it won't last forever, but what good things do? That doesn't mean it isn't worth it. 

So, next time you see someone trip, ask if they are okay. If there is even a small spark of a notion that you should pull over to offer someone assistance or stop to help someone gather the papers they spilled, do it. Remind them that others care. Be the person who stops. Show, sow, and share compassion.