I’ve been engaged in a coaching program and one of the adages that’s been mentioned is the one about giving a person a fish vs teaching them how to fish (and why the ladder seems overall wiser) and I keep coming back to the same reasoning, how about both?
So many of the challenges many are facing in the world (especially around hunger) seem to be so much more complex than the simple reduction of the example used in the training I’m doing and while I also see the point illustrated in it, it just further reminds me that either/or approaches to a number of things just isn’t always realistic or simple.
More often than not, I keep a variety of snacks in my car (a holdover from having children) and for years now when I’m driving around I will see people in places throughout the city on corners with the recognizable cardboard sign with messages written in marker stating that “Anything Helps” or “Lost My Job/Homeless/Hungry” and so on and if I have snacks or extra cash/change I willingly share it with folks. Right now I have actually cut up a few loaves of cinnamon bread that I got at Costco (that the kids have turned their noses up at!) and packaged up to share with whomever I encounter while out and about.
I often hear that fish statement in my mind when I encounter someone that’s in need of help but it’s gotten quieter in the years since I’ve had children, prior to their arrival I was not as willing to give money or anything other than my time (volunteering in food pantries or delivering food) to my fellow communitarians because I didn’t really feel like a dollar or two would do much of anything for them.
I’m also not sure if my change in perspective around helping those I meet that are asking for it coincided with the arrival of my children increasing my overall sense of compassion or if it was just a recognition that not everyone has somewhere to fish from so being given a fish will at least provide nourishment until such time as learning to and having a place to fish is possible. One of the biggest shifts in my perspective tho has been knowing people personally who have been homeless and also thinking to myself, what if this person were one of my children or ME, I would certainly hope that someone would help me if I asked for it – because as I’ve learned, it can be VERY hard to ask for help.
Can you love your community in some way that resembles giving to those in need in it today? Do you carry snacks in your car for you or your kids? Perhaps you can share some of them with a person in your community that you see on the corner or elsewhere as you move through your day.
If you’re fortunate enough to live somewhere where there are no obvious signs of struggle with community members then get creative and figure out a way to share some of your “fish” today.
TimeSpaceOne 