Unlock Your Right Time, Right Place, and Right Opportunity
Overlooked Needs - Lost Marriage
As I sit in the Cleveland airport this morning at 6:00 a.m. after my speech last night on OPPORTUNITY unstuck!, a really tall, grey haired and physically imposing man who looked a lot like William Hurt in his late 50’s and his young, blonde, attractive daughter with a Notre Dame sweat shirt sat down next to me.
I was working on my lap top, responding to my full inbox. In addition to my lap top being open, my ears were open as well. His daughter was describing a challenge that she was having with her bicycle transportation for local school transportation. Her bike was basically broken and she could not get it fixed. The daughter was using her mother’s bike but there was a problem getting the bike to the shop because her mother who had the only car couldn’t lift the bike into the trunk to get it to the bike repair shop.
Her Dad said a little sarcastically, “That’s funny, lifting something like the bike and putting it into the trunk never stopped your mother before to get things like this done.” He seemed to be implying that there must be some other reason the mother hadn’t taken the bike into the repair shop.
The daughter, looking astonished, replied, “Dad, what are you talking about? Because of her back problems, Mom hasn’t been able to lift something like a bike like this for years. She has needed help from me to do this for quite some time.”
The conversation grew a little quiet, and then the Dad quietly replied, “Hum… maybe this is why your Mom and I got a divorce. I don’t guess I really never knew that.”
I felt very sad for this broken family. Had the dad missed such an obvious need in a world so very close to him? How does that happen? My ponderings led me to ask myself to examine what needs are passing me unnoticed on a daily basis?
I challenge you to ask yourself the same question: “What needs are you passing by today?”
If you recall, the 3rd Golden Key in OPPORTUNITY unstuck! is “Actively Help Others.” The focus of the father in the story was obviously one that centered primarily on himself and his needs.
However, as I observed them sitting in front of me on the airplane, I readily discerned he really cares and loves his daughter. I am wondering what he thinks about as he sits quietly and gazes out of the window. Is he wondering if things could have been different in his marriage? Does he have regrets? How different his life and the life of his family might have been had he been able to really and actively help others, especially those that are dearest to him.
These were just my musings at 35,000 feet. What are your thoughts on this idea?
I was working on my lap top, responding to my full inbox. In addition to my lap top being open, my ears were open as well. His daughter was describing a challenge that she was having with her bicycle transportation for local school transportation. Her bike was basically broken and she could not get it fixed. The daughter was using her mother’s bike but there was a problem getting the bike to the shop because her mother who had the only car couldn’t lift the bike into the trunk to get it to the bike repair shop.
Her Dad said a little sarcastically, “That’s funny, lifting something like the bike and putting it into the trunk never stopped your mother before to get things like this done.” He seemed to be implying that there must be some other reason the mother hadn’t taken the bike into the repair shop.
The daughter, looking astonished, replied, “Dad, what are you talking about? Because of her back problems, Mom hasn’t been able to lift something like a bike like this for years. She has needed help from me to do this for quite some time.”
The conversation grew a little quiet, and then the Dad quietly replied, “Hum… maybe this is why your Mom and I got a divorce. I don’t guess I really never knew that.”
I felt very sad for this broken family. Had the dad missed such an obvious need in a world so very close to him? How does that happen? My ponderings led me to ask myself to examine what needs are passing me unnoticed on a daily basis?
I challenge you to ask yourself the same question: “What needs are you passing by today?”
If you recall, the 3rd Golden Key in OPPORTUNITY unstuck! is “Actively Help Others.” The focus of the father in the story was obviously one that centered primarily on himself and his needs.
However, as I observed them sitting in front of me on the airplane, I readily discerned he really cares and loves his daughter. I am wondering what he thinks about as he sits quietly and gazes out of the window. Is he wondering if things could have been different in his marriage? Does he have regrets? How different his life and the life of his family might have been had he been able to really and actively help others, especially those that are dearest to him.
These were just my musings at 35,000 feet. What are your thoughts on this idea?
Comment
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Comment by Mike Branch on April 22, 2009 at 3:45pm
- Perhaps it reveals how readily we naturally place our own perspective on immediate self-interest above that of serving others - especially in our closest relationships. The irony is that humbly serving others (with no expectation of a return on that investment) turns out to be the most self-serving thing we can do, in the long run. Self-consuming is not very far from self-devouring, and the sad part is that in such circumstances others often get gobbled up as well.
© 2010 Created by Tom Sheives on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
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