So, it's the 5th day of my semester break before I need to start facing all the painstakingly difficult subjects and syllabus on 31st December later - yeah, my course programme supervisor (or whoever set the schedule) is 'smart' enough to arrange the first day of our semester on the LAST DAY of the year, bravo.
Anyways, I went shopping today with my friends, Yin Yen and Simmie, in Times Square. We went there by train and basically we need to switch from boarding the Monorail to KTM in KL Central on our way back from TS to Kepong and there's approximately a 10-15-minute walk in between the 2 stations, including a zebra crossing. So, when the traffic light for road pedestrians turned green, all of us crossed the road quickly before the light turned red again. It was at this point that I noticed a blind man, also crossing the road albeit at a much slower pace, groping the road ahead of him for obstacles with his walking stick. I've heard of moral stories and teachings all through my educational history about "You have to help when you see a blind man crossing the road." bla bla, but I've never really met one literally in real life. I mean, of course I've seen blind men before, walking by the roadsides, but never one crossing the road with me. I was hesitant for about a second before I grabbed hold of the blind uncle and helped him cross the road, with the green light still flickering on and off and the alarm indicator still making its timed ticking. When the blind man felt my touch, he quickened his pace and walked at normal pace instead of the slow walk he did just now when he was unsure of the road.
I led him all the way to the KL Central LRT/KTM Station and brought him pass the LRT scanning machine. He thanked us before slowly groping his way to the train - we could help no further as only those with tickets can pass through that section.
All these while, whenever I saw blind men by the roadside walking, I didn't really know whether to help or not. I mean, they're walking with their own ability and they might not need our help at all; I thought we'd be kinda busybodies if we'd have helped them and they might just be too polite to refuse our help. So I never really helped blind men walking except moving and making way for them to pass. But after this time, my perception totally changed. If we'd never lent a helping hand to the blind people, yes, they can still reach their destination, but they'd use much MUCH longer time than when you'd helped them. I can feel it really. When the blind uncle felt my touch, he automatically increased his speed because he know we're leading him the way and we're helping him to clear his path. It's not about helping them to reach their destination, they can pretty much do that themselves, rather it's about saving their time of groping and feeling the way.
You never know how much you can help them, so really, whenever you see someone in trouble or stuffs, do not hesitate, do not let your shyness impede you from helping the needy. HELP. Help someone reduce their trouble, even though the help is small. It may seem insignificant to you, but it may mean a lot to them. When they returned you with a smile or a 'thank you', it'll honestly bring a smile to your face.
Yin Yen snapped a photo behind me when I was guiding him. Lol. Not boasting but I guess it's good for memories?
Nyways, glad that I've done a good deed today, :D I've learned a new thing too.
Till then, peace out
Carmen N.
VIP Until Whenever
