Where do people get the idea that they cannot help someone else?
Why do people feel like their poverty prevents them from aiding
another?
I’ve met dozens of these helpless people among the homeless here
in the USA, among the helpless and hungry across our land, and
among the destitute in Eastern Europe. Everywhere I go I find
people stressed and distressed about their condition.
There must be a Satanic influence or a complete sinful
involvement of some kind that prevents people from seeing their
ability to help others and climb out of their own pit of self
pity.
Not all poor people I meet are of this attitude. Many of the
most generous, caring, and helpful people I know are as poor as
church mice, if I may use such an old phrase.
The first people on the scene in time of tragedy are those who
have little to give but are willing to give all they have. Many
of the most benevolent toward those in need are those who are
just one notch above total impoverishment.
With all the country’s wealth before them, people somehow get
the idea that they cannot give because they must hang onto what
they have – for themselves. Even the rich feel this way, maybe
even more of the rich feel this way than do the impoverished.
Just as I know of exceptions among the poor, I also know of
exceptions among the rich, and it seems that those who give of
themselves become stronger and stronger. The generous poor do
not always become wealthy, but they know the reward of helping
others. The generous rich seem to reap even more wealth in the
midst of their giving.
When I am asked to recommend something for someone who is
depressed or obsessed with inappropriate worry about their own
situation, I recommend they go to the poorest part of the city
and help someone.
There are many opportunities to join with organizations in these
poor areas, and a novice would do well to participate in a
program that is underway and supervised by someone who knows
what they are doing.
In the end, all of us need to realize that “it’s never too late
to be what we should have been.” (Dale Collie)
Copyright 2010 – Dale Collie