On my way into town yesterday to camp out at a local coffee shop and do some writing, I cycled past an old lady who was standing on a grass verge looking uncertain and very uncomfortable, and I wasn't sure which way she was trying to go.
I'd gone past her heading up the road before I really registered that everything wasn't quite right, so I turned round to investigate.
Sure enough she was in her 90's, hadn't been out for a while and was trying to catch a bus into town to do some shopping, but she told me she was feeling (and was definitely looking) very shaky.
In the end all she needed was my support to get down from the grass verge and sit down on the nearby bench to rest for a few minutes.
I did ask if there was anything else I could do but she refused, thanking me profusely.
What I wondered is how many times I would have vaguely registered that something wasn't quite normal and just continued merrily on my way, forgetting it in a matter of minutes or even seconds.
Self help and improvement books and trainings tell us to focus on our goal and on our vision and to not be distracted. Yes they also often tell us to try and be in the present moment, but in most cases that's to check in right now with what we're feeling and experiencing. I suppose the clue's in the name Self Help. It's all focused on ourselves.
I'm not lecturing here but reflecting on myself and just wondering if others might spot it in themselves too.
I know that many times I would have cycled past that old lady, pretty much oblivious, but yesterday I stopped.
It took me less than two minutes to provide a helping hand but it was the most important thing I did yesterday. It must have been otherwise I wouldn't have thought of it as soon as I opened my laptop this morning.
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