Unfortunately inconvenience beats comfort when helping someone in need.
As I am writing this post I am listening to a pack of howling coyotes. They responded instantly when they heard the sirens of passing emergency vehicles. They noticed the high-pitched urgent sounds and jumped in immediately. Are you a coyote?
Now you might think I'm asking if you are an ambulance chaser, nosy about someone else's tragedy. That's not my question.
What I am asking is, do you notice when people around you are sounding the alarm alerting you to an emergency in their lives? So many people are struggling with real needs - families dealing with a financial crisis due to the economy; parents understanding their troubled teens; single moms trying to manage the demands of home, kids and work; laid off workers applying for fewer jobs...The list goes on. Are you a coyote - someone who notices and jumps in?
Or are you a turtle? The turtle is animal that can't hear and retreats into its shell at the signs of danger. Many of us prefer that approach to the inconvenience of opening our ears so that we can hear the sirens that are blaring around us. Often, I find myself responding like a turtle, it's more comfortable. However, I need to learn to listen like a coyote but then go beyond just howling. I want to listen and then respond to the alarms so that I can help my neighbor.
It's all quiet again-I wonder if the coyotes left to help out...
