I have long loved Harper Lee's novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." Not only is the story interesting and well-written, but it contains powerful messages about human relationships and strong moral character. Most of you are probably familiar with the part of the story when Jem & Scout receive guns from Atticus. He says, "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." Scout wonders why, and her neighbor says, "They don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us."
I think these lines parallel the story in multiple ways, but I specifically like how they apply to Scout's severely reclusive neighbor, Boo Radley. Boo keeps to himself, usually, but comes out of his comfort zone to save Scout's life one night.
A couple of weeks ago, we were out raking leaves for 4 hours when I was reminded of this principle of service/compassion.... We had somewhere to be that evening and ran out of time to finish the job, so had to leave all 40+ bags of leaves out on our lawn with the intention of of taking them to the dump the following Monday. We have a neighbor who is semi-reclusive (not to the same extreme as Boo, but who is fairly reserved nonetheless). Although he has always been kind, we have probably not been as friendly to him as we ought. As we were heading out the door, he came over and offered to haul our leaves to the dump for us. We declined, explaining that we felt badly that we couldn't help, so it wouldn't be right for him to do it by himself. We left. When we arrived home, the bags were gone. Despite the fact that we have not been the best of neighbors to this mockingbird, he still made the effort to come out of his comfort zone and help us.
Incidents such as this make me realize that I have a long way to go in learning to truly love and serve others. I need to be a kinder neighbor and friend to all. I was grateful for this life lesson. Perhaps it's time for me to read the novel again....
4 comments:
The man or woman who knows himself strives to live for others in whom he perceives an underlying, divine connection. He finds joy in quietly making a difference, often unrecognized, in the lives surrounding him because he is familiar with the effort, struggle, and sometimes agony associated with our walk through life. He has realized that the most memorable, rewarding, and meaningful moments of life are such because they involve other people and the intertwined happiness they have felt together in those instances. Caring, serving, and sacrifice are the actions that breed love, fellowship, and life.
Thank you for sharing your story and reminding all of us how important this is :)
I'm not even going to attempt to be as insightful as the anonymous comment above, but justed wanted to say thanks for posting the story. It's a good reminder to live our lives in the service of others. Thanks for your friendship and example. It means the world to me :)
What a thoughtful blog. I need to be reminded more about service. thank you. Can't wait to see you thanksgiving.
Love Ya
Grazie everybody... especially "Anonymous" for the very thoughtful note...
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