Live life through H.E.A.R.T! R = Reach out (Mac 21, 2010)
After exploring the A=Appreciation, we shall move on to R = Reach out. The phase Reach out carries different meanings to different individuals. It can mean move forward or upward in order to touch. Reach out can mean reach outward in space; it may also mean attempt to communicate. My definition for reach up is to support, to volunteer self, to lend helping hands in order to make a difference in a person’s life. Reach out also means service above self.
When I was young, I always asked myself: “What is my purpose in life?” and the answer I gathered was always “To reach out and to serve”. At the age of twelve, I started to ponder in what way and in which area I could reach out and serve the most. I asked my dad: “Papa, what is the meaning of reach out? Does it means caring for others? How can we reach out?” Papa replied, “Give when people need it. Share when people want it.” He continued, “If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path.”
Papa told me that we all had a way in which we could reach out to others. When we reach out to others and offer them comfort we will discover a wonderful thing- the feelings of joy and peace that nothing can compare. Nothing else can give the peace and joy that you will experience when you help others, support them, care for them, pray for them, and reach out to them and offering the comfort that they need.
I always remember how my papa sacrificed his time to serve the local community; I saw him giving money or goods to needy people when they came to my house to ask for help; I witnessed how papa help a man who knocked on our door seeking for help one late night. The man was Pak Rahman. He asked my papa to help him as his son was terribly ill at home. My papa responded instantly and went out with Pak Rahman to his house. I remembered that it was mid night. I was quite worried and did not sleep, waiting for my papa to come home.
By the time when he reached home, it was almost seven o’clock in the morning. I saw papa come home with a cheerful face. I asked him: “Papa, are you not tired? You have been out for the whole night.” “Who is that old man and how is his son?” “Why he came to look for you?” I asked incessantly. Papa replied, “I do not really know him well. Anyway, he came to seek our assistance; his son was sick at home and he had no money to buy medicine. He wanted to borrow money from us to buy medicine for his son.”
I asked papa, “Why did you lend him money? What if he does not return to you?” My papa said, “Being able to give and help people is a blessing. We are blessed as we have extra money to help others. There are many people who cannot give because they are less fortunate than we are. If our money can help Pak Rahman to save his son, the money is of great value; we save a life.”
I treasured my papa’s words in my heart - “Being able to give, help and reach out to the less fortunate is a blessing.” Papa told me that we needed not to wait until we were rich to help the poor; they are many ways we can reach out to people. A kind thought and a caring gesture are also ways to help people. Words of encouragement and a sincere sharing of life experience are also ways to reach out to those in need.
When I grew older, I began to see my social responsibilities. When I began to have the ability to contribute, I began to understand the meaning of reaching out better. I recall what Ralph Waldo Emerson has said: If you would lift me up you must be on higher ground. The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste and to experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly fearlessly for newer and richer experiences. By reaching out to others, we are reaching out to our own life destiny. When we help and reach out to those who are in need of help, we are also helping ourselves to grow.
I believe that helping people can be in the form of advice, sharing and guidance. It need not have to be in monetary form. I began doing voluntary work in my community when I was 13 years old together with my late father. Twenty five years later, I still find it an honor and privilege to help others. Currently, as a member of the Fuda Cancer Caring Group, I learn to serve cancer patients by providing them the comfort through advice and heart-to-heart talk. In these six years of serving cancer patients, I become more matured in managing my life. I see life as a meaningful journey.
A friend of mine, Wong Xian Feng from Zheng Zhou in Henan province, China told me, he would like to adopt orphans. He works in foster homes and always wants to be a foster father of homeless children. “There are many homeless children after the devastating earthquake in Si Chuan. I would like to reach out and help them to lead a normal and secure life.” he said. I was greatly touched and inspired by his love for homeless children. I get to understand more about the meaning of Reach Out; it means service above self.
I believe all of us have the ability and blessings in providing a hand to hold and a shoulder to lean on. Let us reach out to as many individuals as we can while we still have the ability and time to do so. As long as we have the HEART to help, to serve and to reach out, let us reach out as far and as wide as we can. I believe, alone we cannot change the world but we can bring hope to others and gain unlimited joy in return. I like to quote a Chinese proverb, “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, reach out and help somebody.”
I shall introduce the letter T in the acronym of H.E.A.R.T next week. It stands for “Touch”. Let us explore together the word “Touch” in my next Sunday Column.
Esther Law is a director, consultant, trainer, Past Division Governor of Toastmasters International, President for Lions Club of Kuching Host (2009-2010). Esther is also the Overseas Director of Fuda Cancer Hospital, Guangzhou, China. If you have any comments about this article you can contact her at lawleepoh@gmail.com
