The last week has been quite hard on me as my back pain has returned which makes getting around more painful and difficult. Yes, my back pain is back! I can’t deny that I find it hard to do the things I could do a week ago but I’ve come to accept that this, like anything else, is only temporary. Of course, I do take pain medication to alleviate some of my pain but I try to reduce the amount of medication I take.
Since my back went on strike, I found myself having to rely on others for physical support. Not that, given my mobility impairment, I find myself in situations when I do require help. But, I try my best to make an effort when I can. At the same time, I don’t feel less of a person if I need to ask for help - sometimes from strangers. Before, I used to be proud and reject, if I could, any attempts to assist me. Now, as I ponder on the Buddhist idea of interdependence, I have come to understand how each of us depend on one another to live on this planet.
Two weeks ago, I was helped by a man who collected trash to help me on my wheelchair. If it hadn’t been for him, I’d probably have to miss work on that day. I felt that this act meant a lot to me. It wasn’t such any trouble for him as he was a strong man. But, to me, it was an act that permitted me to go on with my life. We often choose to divide people based on characteristics such as income, beauty, social status, and so on. In our restricted world view, I suspect that a garbage collector would be on the bottom of the list of people we want to be identified with.
Yet, in truth, if someone didn’t collect our rubbish, we would have a mess everywhere - not to mention a rise in illness and disease. Indeed, my encounter with this unknown person, has made me realise how much we really depend on other people to make our daily lives worthwhile. It has also made me aware of how misguided it is of us to attach ourselves to a belief that we are better than other people just because we have had the opportunity to get an education, or find a well paid job or even because we belong to a particular faith community.
I’m not saying that all these are without value. I’m just saying that they are secondary to the most important thing of all - our humanity. For whoever we are and wherever we live or whatever we do, we remain human beings who must face the same problems life throws at us. We remain dependent on the world around us for our survival. We depend on other living beings to sustain our mind and bodies.
In short we are interdependent. We can never be independent. These are the lessons I have learned from my encounter with that man. There’s nothing to be ashamed of when you have to ask for help. It’s not a sign of weakness either. For, if you think about it, it takes courage to swallow your pride and ask for help.
It’s part of being human.
But you have to be humble enough to acknowledge it...
So, yes, I am not ashamed to admit I was helped by a garbage collector. For he and I share more similarities than differences.
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