Helping Others

For the past five months or so, I have been seeing during my evening walks a certain man trek in my neighbourhood. The man must be in his late thirties. And judging by his shabby dressing, one can easily tell he is of unsound mind. He is always in tattered and grimy clothes. On some days, he can be seen walking barefoot. A poor man he is.

Several weeks ago, I noted the man's pair of trousers had gotten torn on the back, exposing his buttocks. Someone must have sympathised with his plight because a few days after I observed his torn trousers, I saw him wearing another pair of trousers that was red in colour. He hasn't changed that red pair of trousers since then. Needless to say, the trousers have turned greasy due to too much wear.

Not only is the man materially poor, but also spiritually, for he never has anyone to converse with. His scruffy appearance keeps people away from him. I wonder how he survives in such kind of loneliness because, as Mother Teresa quipped, the greatest form of poverty is the feeling of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for.

Poor and insane as the man is, he must have developed physical fitness from the regular walking exercises he does. And I don't know what motivates him to go for walks because I don't think he is smart enough to understand the benefits of physical exercises. But from the way he strolls with his head facing the ground, he seems to be always on a mission of searching for something that will ease his life - perhaps a dropped coin or a leftover morsel of food.

On the evening of last Thursday as I was heading to my hometown of Kiserian for my evening walk, I spotted the insane man approaching in the opposite direction. Upon seeing him, I heard the voice of God tell me - not in loud words but in the still small voice in my heart - to share something with the man.

At first, I was reluctant to share anything with him but the still small voice of God nudged me to do so. I therefore took out from one of my pockets a small bag in which I keep loose change to see what I had. In the small bag were two Ksh. 20 coins, one Ksh. 10 coin and one Ksh. 5 coin. I decided to give the insane man the Ksh. 10 coin.

Since the book of Proverbs cautions us against associating with good-for-nothings, I thought it unwise to stop the man and hand the Ksh. 10 coin to him. So I quickly devised a way of giving him the coin without initiating a chat with him: I dropped the coin on the road when he was about twenty metres from me.

After stealthily dropping the coin on the road, I continued with my walk, treading past insane man whose head was facing the ground as always. A short time after walking past the man, I turned my head to see whether he would pick the coin I had dropped.

Collecting the Ksh. 10 coin, the man did. And after picking the coin, he spun on his heel and headed back to wherever he had come from. I wasn't near enough to observe his reaction at finding the coin. And I don't think he realized that I was the one who had dropped it. But I felt elated for giving him the coin. I progressed with my walk to Kiserian full of the joys of spring.

Later on, I was impressed with myself for having practised unselfish thinking, a concept I recently learnt from John C. Maxwell's illuminating book, Thinking for a Change. Unselfish thinking is about using our resources to help others. John C. Maxwell says in the book that few things bring greater satisfaction than helping others.

Personally, I am a people-loving person but I am ashamed to admit that I struggle with selfishness. That's why I was impressed with myself for giving the insane man a Ksh. 10 coin. I intend to continue practising unselfish thinking not only by helping those in need but also by celebrating the success of others.

My beloved reader, I challenge you to also practise unselfish thinking. Be generous with your resources and compliments. Let's take to heart the words of the great French-American missionary Stephen Grellet who said, "I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." Adieu!

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed this story on helping others, you might also enjoy another one on "Encounters With Madmen" that I wrote a few years ago.