Bob's Corner The Value of a Tear

I was stopped at a red light today, and I looked over at the car next to me and saw that the lady driving the car was crying.  She wasn’t just shedding a tear, she was bawling her eyes out.  Maybe a loved one just died, or she got some bad news about test results.  Perhaps the most important relationship in her life is disintegrating, or she lost her job.  Whatever it was, it was obviously bad – real bad.  My heart went out to her.

At this moment in my life everything is good.  I am happily married to my best friend, we are healthy, our children are doing well and I have fulfilling work.  For whatever reason, her experience of life at that moment was quite different.

We pass hundreds of people each day.  We are living our life, and they are living theirs.  For the most part we don’t give much thought to things when they are not happening to us.  But sometimes, our worlds collide. 

Everyone goes through tough times in life.  Everyone.  Life leaves its marks on you one way or another, and each of us has scars.  Sometimes we hold on to negative memories.  It’s like they make an indelible mark that still hurts, even years later.  Seeing someone else suffering can bring up the memory of our own personal hurts and make us want to reach out and help.  I believe there is something sacred about being there when someone needs you.

So, I rolled my window down to ask the woman if she was okay.  As I did, the light turned green and she drove away.  Her tears were a private moment in her life that I was privileged to see.  It brought up compassion in me.  Could it be that in her tears I saw my own reflection?  

What did this bring up in you?

Thank you, crying lady, for sharing a private moment.  I sincerely hope that life has gotten better.   

Bob Payne

Publisher

Read More on Senior Page
Volume 7, Issue 10, Posted 7:46 PM, 10.03.2016