Lend a helping hand whenever you can

As mankind advances technologically and in other areas of endeavour, one would expect that those characteristics which differentiate and elevate us from the animal kingdom would also be enhanced but alas that hasn't been the case. We seem to have lost compassion or the willingness to help others in need or distress.

Rather what we now have from my experience are three categories of people as regards their reactions to those in need. The categories as I have chosen to name them are as follows:

1. The opportunists:this category seeks to benefit from the predicament or misfortunes of others. One kind of opportunist leeches on the dilemma of others to get likes and follows. They are the purveyors of breaking bad news first via their social media handles.

Rather that rendering whatever help is within their reach, they reach for their mobile devices instead to capture the moment which will eventually end of in the social media feeds to earn them likes or follows. This act of insensitivity is especially troubling as these videos sometimes have content that even the conventional media houses will not air out of respect for the dignity of the victims.

If they were even to air such content, the face or other body parts deemed as sensitive for public viewing would be blurred. Alas these 'likomaniacs' have no such ethnics, hence they do not have such boundaries.

The second kind of opportunist render help to those in distress on condition of getting something in return. They take advantage of the situation to request for something which they know the person is distress wouldn't ordinarily do or give to them. They leverage on the hope that they victim is in a desperate situation and will be willing to do anything to get relief.

2. The indifferent: This group simply pass by an accident scene or people in need without any feeling. They are simply not concerned or are too engrossed with their own problems or challenges to bother themselves with the plight of another. There are some though who weren't always like this.

They had unsavoury experiences in the past which made them 'turn'. While it is natural to feel bad when one gets hurt because of lending a helping hand, it shouldn't make one permanently seal the door of helping others. What one needs to do instead of becoming numb to helping others is to the cautious as there are indeed those who seek to harm or take advantage of those who are willing to assist others.

3. The selfless: this group is what every society needs. We simply do not have enough of them anymore. This group will ALWAYS render assistance to people in need. They can go above and beyond to ensure that relief gets to a person in need. They are oftentimes the object of jokes by those that belong to the earlier mentioned groups or categories who cannot simply phantom why someone would go through all what the stress or inconvenience to render aid to another individual who could at times even be a total stranger. If you belong to this group or category, know that you're one of a kind. Do keep it up even if it appears to be more and more 'out of fashion' to do so in today's world.

This write up was inspired by an advice a commercial bus driver gave to a passenger who boarded his vehicle while I was returning from Friday congregational prayers about a week ago. It happened that he had witnessed an accident somewhere within the city which involved the family members of the employer of the passenger in question, specifically the wife and child.

Their conversation revealed that although the passenger had been aware of the accident, he didn't go the scene where it had occured although he could have done so. It was further revealed that because of this he didn't know that his employer's wife and child had been involved in the accident.

It was this that prompted the driver to advise the passenger that whenever he happens to be within the vicinity where an accident occured he should endeavour to go there, perhaps he may know someone that is involved and possibly render any help within his capacity.

This piece of advise struck a chord as I have never consciously had this thought whenever I happen to pass by an accident scene aside from the sympathy for those involved. The way the driver gave the advise suggested that he was talking from a place of experience, hence the more credible the advise was although it wasn't directed at me.

Showing concern or rendering a helping hand shouldn't be an afterthought in our daily interactions or seen as an unnecessary burden. I say this because often times when rendering assistance to others we too also have some of our challenges or problems solved in the process although the latter wasn't our intention.

Just recently while helping a college scour the web for academic resources, I stumbled across a potential solution to a research challenge which I had never thought possible. In the end while helping someone else solve a challenge, I mine resolved too. Hence it was a win, win situation.