Who Need a Helping Hand

Some friends and relatives never seem to learn that what they do contributes to what
happens to them. They are forever in a stew, trying to find out how they got there and
it never occurs to them that they may have brought the situation on themselves.

It is always someone else's fault that they can't find a boy friend, or pay a bill, go on a trip
or whatever. They don't think about the fact they build their own little boxes, which
surround them and sometimes stifle their desires. Of course, I realize we all do this to
some extent, but truly I think as we get older we should learn, at least, a little from our
experiences.

Maybe God didn't make some of us with heads as thick as others. Maybe it takes
a brickbat in the head for some people to wake up and smell the roses. I 'm not really
quite sure how it works but some people never seem to get it.

Try as I may, to help these people to wake up, I've had to learn to wake up myself.

The fact is there are some people you can help to improve their lives, and others who
can't be helped, because they truly don't want to be helped. Well, in fairness, maybe
they were brought up to let others constantly do for them and getting other to do what
they should do has been bred into them. Maybe it was the circumstances of their life
as a child.

I know one family that for generations has depended on the public welfare to support
them and their children. No one in the entire family for four generations has ever put
in an honest days work in their lives. Even if they were offered a job they truly would
not know how to handle it. They could not learn but they just have never had too.

Living in self-pity and blaming others for their woes is as much a part of them, as
having blue eyes and brown hair. If they improved their attitude or life style, then they
would not be who they are. They thrive on being disgruntle. They love being victims
and asking for help from other, because they don't have to take responsibility for their
own actions. When you think about it, there is Ying and Yang in everything around
us, so why not accept the fact that people are that way too?

Maybe, I'm one of the ones with a thick head too. My husband always says, "You can
not save the world", but I keep on trying. Although I must admit I am getting better as I
get older.

I finally have begun to understand that although lighting one little candle,
can make the world a brighter place, it can not bring light to everyone. It doesn't
mean that I'll quit trying to help other folks. It only means, that if I try and they refuse
to take the helping hand offered, I must learn, when to withdraw it.

In other words maybe they are saying to me to mind my own business as they are
happy the way they are. It is time for me to withdraw into my own little box and rethink
what I'm doing. Now the question is, should I really stay out of it or is my tax dollars
paying for their life style? This is something to contemplate.

I believe in lending a helping hand to anyone who is down on their luck but I do not
believe in holding them up. There is a decided difference and as they say, "The Lord
helps those, who help themselves!" These are profound words.