Do Not We All
I parked in front of the mall wiping off my car. I had just come from the car wash and was waiting for my wife to get out of work. Coming my way from across the parking lot was what society would consider a bum. From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money. There are times when you feel generous but there are other times that you just don’t want to be bothered. This was one of those “don’t want to be bothered times” .
“I hope he doesn’t ask me for any money,” I thought. He didn’t. He came and sat on the curb in front of the bus stop but he didn’t look like he could have enough money to even ride the bus.
After a few minutes he spoke, “That’s a very pretty car.” he said. He was ragged but he had an air of dignity around him.“ Thanks,” I said, and continued wiping off my car.
He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected pleas for money never came. As the silence between us widened something inside said, “Ask him if he needs any help.” I was sure that he would say “Yes” but I held true to the inner voice.
“Do you need any help?” I asked.
He answered in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget. We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from those of higher learning and accomplishments.
I expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand. He spoke the three words that shook me.
“Don’t we all?” he said.
I was feeling high and mighty, successful and important, above a bum in the street, until those three words hit me like a twelve-gauge shotgun.
“Don’t we all?”
I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I needed help. I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus fare, but enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day.
Those three little words still ring true. No matter how much you have, no matter how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you have, no matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or a place to sleep, you can give help. Even if it’s just a compliment, you can give that. You never know when you may see someone that appears to have it all . They are waiting for you to give them what they don’t have. But what you gain is a different perspective on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from daily chaos, that only you through a torn norld .
Maybe the man was just a homeless stranger wandering the streets. Maybe he was more than that. Maybe he was sent by a power that is great and wise, to minister to a soul too comfortable in them. Maybe God looked down, called an Angel, dressed him like a bum, and then said, “go minister to that man cleaning the car, that man needs help.”
Don’t we all.
我把车停放在商场前擦拭着。我刚刚从洗车厂出来，在这里等妻子下班。
这时，从停车场对面走来一个人。从外表看上去，人们会认为他是个乞丐，没车、没房、没有干净衣服，也没有钱。这样的情况，或许是你感觉慷慨的时刻，或许恰恰是你不希望被打搅的时刻。对我来说，那正是一个不希望被打搅的时刻。
我想：“但愿他别向我开口要钱。”他真的没要。
他走过来，在公车站前的道边坐下，但是他似乎连坐公共汽车的钱也没有。
过了几分钟，他说话了：“这车很漂亮。”尽管他穿着简陋，但却透着一种尊严。 “谢谢。”我回答他，继续擦着车。
我干活时他就安静地在那儿坐着，我原来预计的“要钱”却一直没有发生。沉默中我心里突然出现了这样一个念头：问问他是否需要帮助。尽管我敢肯定他会说“需要”，但我还是尊重了自己的心声。
“需要帮忙吗？”我问。
他的回答只有简单的几个字，但却是意义深远的，我永远也不会忘记。我们总是在伟人那里寻找至理名言，也总是期待着那些知识渊博、有所成就之人的言论。
我对他无所期待，只有他向我伸出脏兮兮的手掌。他说的那几个字震撼了我。
“我们不都需要帮助吗？”他如是说。
面对一个街头乞丐，我一直有一种高傲、威严、成功而显要的感觉，直到那几个字 “我们不都需要帮助吗？”犹如12口径的猎枪，重重地击中了我。
我需要帮助。也许不是为了车票或是安身的一席之地，但我需要帮助。我打开钱包，给了他一些钱。这些钱不仅够他买车票，还能让他吃一顿热饭，住上一夜。
“我们不都需要帮助吗？”这几个简单的字常常回响在我的耳边。无论你拥有多少财富，取得了怎样的成就，你都需要帮助。而同样，无论你有多么贫穷，遇到多大的麻烦，甚至你没钱花，露宿街头，你都可以给予他人帮助。即使只是一句赞美，你也能做到。
激励你的人会何时出现，你永远也无法知道。他们正等待你去满足他们的需求，但是你收获的，却是一种全新的生活观，对某种美的新发现，或是暂时从繁杂生活中的解脱，而这些，只有在你参透繁杂的生活之后才能明白。
他可能是受伟大而智慧的力量所遣，来帮助过于安逸的灵魂。也许那个人只是无家可归、流浪街头的陌生人，也有可能他远非如此。也可能是俯瞰人间的上帝派来一位装扮成乞丐的天使，对他说，“那个擦车的人需要帮助，去关照一下他。”
我们不都需要帮助吗？
1. From the of him, he had no car, no home, no clean , and no money. There are times when you feel generous but there are times that you just don’t want to be bothered. This was one of “don’t want to be bothered times”.