Slow Down, You Move Too Fast!

by Karen Elizaga | Posted: September 2nd, 2010 | No Comments »

Rushing to get to my next destination today, a very elderly woman stopped me: “Excuse me, Miss.” She said this slowly and was slightly off-kilter. As a 20+ year New Yorker, my thought was “hurry, lady, I need to move.” But I resisted. And I’m so glad I did.

This woman was in search of the hospital just a couple of blocks away. She couldn’t remember the address, the street or the direction she should have been walking. The hospital did sound vaguely familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite place it, and then, lo and behold, I realized I could Google the address right then and there.

So I did. I gave her the information and pointed her in the right direction (a block away). Well, you’d have thought that I’d given this woman a million bucks.

Pointing skyward, she said “You’re an angel from Heaven.” And all I’m thinking is “I just got you an address from my phone. Not a big deal.” But then she continued to say “You have no idea how many people just ignored me and didn’t think to help.  At least 10 of them. I’m going to look out for you and take you out for a cup of coffee one day. Thank you!”

Wow. I felt SO good to have helped her, but I was overwhelmed by her appreciation and gratitude. And honestly, it made me think about how many people or experiences I’ve blown by because I was in a rush to get some where or focused on just ticking the stuff off my to do list. How many times do we overlook someone’s cry for help?

I thought about this lovely lady all day. I hope she’s relaxing with a cup of tea.

Who can you help? How will it make you feel good, and how much better (by a lot or a little) will you make this person’s life because of your gesture?