there was a man who worked in a psychiatric hospital. it was state funded so they served people who couldn't afford psychiatric care anywhere else. like any other state or federally funded facility, they were often under staffed and pressed to serve the basic needs of their patients.
one day this man was in the middle of working on a project. he was walking down the ward when he heard a small, quiet voice say, "can you see if there are any socks in that drawer?" it was a young lady. her eyes didn't come up to meet his. her hair was a mess and her clothes were wrinkled and had stains on them. the man looked in the drawer that she pointed to and didn't find any socks. he said "sorry ma'am. i don't know where they keep the socks, i don't work back here."
two or three minutes later the man heard the young woman ask another worker. the man almost interrupted to inform the worker that he'd already looked. instead he just watched the other worker open another drawer, right next to the one he'd impatiently searched. "here you go hon, there's you some socks" said the worker and handed the young lady her socks. the young woman put the socks on and smiled timidly.
the man stood there for a minute and wondered when he..or his work...had become so important as to supersede fulfilling the quiet young lady's simple request for socks to cover her bare feet.
i think at some point in our life we have all been guilty of this in some circumstance. we are too busy with our own lives and our own goals to hear that quiet voice of someone in need. whether it be the homeless, those struggling with keeping their families fed or the young girl or boy who live in poverty and watch their parents struggle to feed them every day. we are surrounded with people less fortunate than us every day. we could help, but often are too busy with our own thoughts.
stop for a minute. think of someone you know or someone you have encountered who is struggling. are you too busy?
see you around town