Have a Heart

I have a friend whose grandson was born with handicaps: Down syndrome, autism, and more. At his first job at a restaurant, he brought water to customers, cleaned tables, and similar simple tasks. Some of the other members of the wait-staff, which included other young adults, ridiculed his handicaps so much that he couldn’t take it and he quit the job.

You might ask, why didn’t he complain to his boss? He was too embarrassed. He refused to explain—even to his family—why he quit. His grandmother, who has the tenacity of a bulldog (a female bulldog, of course) finally after many days dragged the story out of him.

But even if he had complained to his boss, and his boss had put an end to the harassment, would you want to continue working at a place where you knew that the other employees thought so little of you, and were probably joking about you behind your back—a job where others rolled their eyes or put a smirk on their face as you entered the room? Probably not.

There is an English proverb that dates back to the mid-sixteenth-century. “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

The proverb tells us that others’ misfortunes could be our own, were it not for the blessing of the Divine.

But suppose you reply, “I don’t believe in a Divine Being.” That’s okay. Replace the words “the Divine” with something you do believe in, such as good luck or a good upbringing. The point of the proverb is that our fate is not entirely in our hands. Our accomplishments are not entirely ours, and the misfortunes of others are not entirely theirs.

I mention this subject because it seems too many people today do not have enough character to treat others with respect and compassion. Don’t be one of those heartless people! The world has too much cruelty. Let none of us add to it. Have a heart! Be kind. One day, your life—or mine—might depend on the compassion of a stranger.