What Brings Out The Best In You?

Posted on 18 March 2007

I was on vacation this week in the Caribbean, which is why my Blogs were non-existent. It is the first week away we have had since well before moving to the US and I thought I would give myself a complete break from work and work related issues.

On Monday we were in Jamaica and as we had been there several times before just decided to wander down to some local shops and dispense with venturing any further.

For those of you that have been to Jamaica you will know what a beautiful island it is and also know that the locals are not shy at coming forward! In fact any walk can be a daunting prospect as you run a gauntlet of taxi drivers, hair-braiders and general merchandise sellers all determined to relieve you of as much cash as possible. Unfortunately it often has to be a case of getting your head down and walking as quickly as possible. To be honest on more than one occasion in the past we have felt somewhat threatened and even been physically jostled. Even though it doesn’t seem to be as bad as in previous years chatting to locals is something that it isn’t easy to do without the expectancy that you are going to give them some money.

On the walk back to the ship there were two members of the ships staff in front of us and suddenly one of the guys decides to cross the road at a time when traffic was streaming in both directions. I wasn’t really watching but realized what happened when I heard a thud and looked up to see the guy roll off the car and onto the road. My wife is a nurse and she immediately ran over to tend to him as I called for an ambulance. She checked all his vital signs and whereas he wasn’t at all well he didn’t appear to have any serious injuries. The next 15 minutes or so were chaotic as the police arrived and traffic started to build up in both directions.

The reason I am writing this is that within moments of the accident happening a shift took place amongst the people round and about. Suddenly there was a genuine concern for another human beings life, people that had been busy doing whatever the day required from them were suddenly more concerned about this poor mans welfare than making a few extra dollars. Cars that had been beeping their horns in annoyance when they just thought it was a hold up were suddenly stopping to offer help when they realized the severity of the situation, passers-by were doing likewise and not a single trader was pushing their wares.

It got me wondering why we sometimes need to see misfortune to reach inside and bring out the best on ourselves, why we simply can’t offer such compassion and dare I say it, love, to another human being without first having to see them in trouble or obviously needing help. I have to admit, I have no idea of the answer and I think it is a shame that most of us have a tendency to hide our best side and only allow it out in times of adversity.

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