Feeling sad about people who just "need someone"

Paige you rock.

Random acts of kindness -- they're important and they pay dividends that are unexpected. Especially if you try to pay it forward.  There was a part of my life that was unbelieveably difficult -- and I remember several kindnesses that were done for me then ... and if everyone just "paid it forward" like you did.

We get so into "what's in it for me" that we flatly MISS what's actually there.  The experience of meeting someone like that.  Remember that part in "It's a Wonderful Life" when he gets his "wish" and sees what life would actually have been had he not been around.  And he finds out that a whole platoon of men died in the war simply because his brother wasn't there to save them because he'd helped pull the boy out of a frozen lake when the brother was little? (that got complicated but most all of us have seen the movie!)

Who knows what did or didn't happen in that time you took to talk to this guy.  But you're richer for it -- and now WE are just a bit more mindful of it too.

You rock  Paige.  and yeah -- we get it.

 Wonderful thing you did, Paige.

mrstjohnson

We all get impatient when someone older is telling a story and repeating themselves, etc. But remember what my mom always said, "be patient, because you might be the only person he/she talks to that day/week." I try to remember that when an older person is in line before me and chatting up the checkout girl/butcher/deli counter. That five minutes to them means a heck of a lot more than it does to me.

I love that you posted this, Lisa.  :)

tacran

In fact, your description of the whole story makes me want to keep in touch with that gentleman! 

Honestly, that's the only real reason I came here.  So that SOMEONE other than me would care about this man.  You know what I mean?  It had nothing to do with me stopping to help-  it had to do with wanting others to CARE. I'm glad that you guys care about that stranger, even though you didn't meet him and don't know his story. 

I have been told little bits about him over the last few years.  I hope he has friends.  I hope he feels valued as a human being in a community of human beings.  Someone read me a quote the other day that I've been trying to find.  It essentially says we are all dying from the day we are born and because of this we ought to be kinder to eachother.

Gina, I'm sure we'd all be kind to Elias.