Weight-159 lbs.
As hard as living on a cup of rice a day was, it really had its advantages. It gave focus to my life and helped me not to worry so much about problems that would normally bother me. Living a hand to mouth existence is difficult to explain. So much of your energy is focused on getting something into your mouth that things like strengthening human relationships fall by the wayside. You become less concerned about things like social rejection, hurt feelings, and the like because you are in a single minded quest to keep yourself alive.
The Bible tells a story about such a thing. At the center of the story is a man who while traveling gets robbed, beaten and left for dead. Two religious leaders walk by, but ignore the guy dying on ground because they are in such a hurry. But then the social outcast of the story passes by. This man, who is despised even by the man dying on the street, is the only one that will help the man in need. He even goes so far as to pay for the guy’s hotel room and medical care. The Samaritan winds up becoming the hero and is the symbol of what it means to really be a good neighbor. But I think we aren’t giving the religious leaders enough credit.
A study was done a few years ago where seminary students were asked to perform a task on the other side of the campus. Each group was given a different time period in which to complete the task. Along the different routes to the building, the researchers had actors pretend to be in trouble. The goal was to see who would stop for those in trouble and who would not. What the researchers discovered was that those who had more time to complete the task were nearly 6 times as likely to help out someone who was in trouble than a person who was in a hurry.
The two religious leaders in the story were doing something that we all would do, if we were presented with the choice. Every human being has the potential for a tunnel vision type mentality that forces them to see only what they want and need, completely ignoring everyone else. While this is a great tool for survival it is a terrible development for community. The horror of the situation is true no matter if you are a powerful CEO or a guy on the street holding a cardboard sign. But, this feature of human evolution can be really devastating for someone who is hungry. Not only are people dealing with all the maladies that come from being hungry, it also causes people to shut themselves off from the community around them so that they can work only on finding food.
And in a weird twist of fate it might be better that way. If we ignore the poor and the hungry anyway isn’t it better that they begin to zone us out too? Or maybe it would all be better if things were another way? So take some time today and slow down. Head over to the small steps page and consider how you might help someone who is being forced into tunnel vision.
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