This morning we were shown a great deal of neighborly love by a wonderful family who lives not too far away. The husband and kids showed up and dug out our vehicles and our driveway.
This picture on the left shows what our place looked like before the neighbors showed up.
And here on the right is how it looks now!
One of the books I am reading these days with Hawken is a book about psychology. Recently we read about an experiment that was conducted. It was called "The Good Samaritan Experiment." The ones conducting the experiment wanted to see if certain factors would cause people to stop and help someone who was hurt. There were two groups of students. The first group was told they had just a few minutes to get to their next destination. On the way there they passed a man who was hurt (he was an actor). Most of the people in this group didn't stop (though some felt really guilty later). The second group wasn't given the time constraints. Many more stopped to help the man in this group. What the researchers found was that "being in a hurry" was the one big thing that stopped people from helping others (or at least that's what I got from it).
Think about our society -- how hurried it is. How fast and rushed most people seem to be. I wonder if sometimes the enemy is behind our hurrying, our fast--paced lives. Maybe he gets us in such a rush we neglect doing God's work because we don't notice what needs doing; or, we feel what we're doing is just too important to be late for.
I know there have been some really important people who have said the main thing is not to rush or hurry in life, but I can't seem to remember who these important people are. I looked up "hurry" quotes and found some good ones. I'll share them here:
"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." ~Lao Tzu
"Once you stop rushing through life, you will be amazed how much more life you have time for." ~Author Unknown
"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset." ~St Francis de Sales