What if?
Recently, I went for a walk around the block while praying a rosary. It was a beautiful evening. Snow was falling steadily and lightly, the kind of snowfall that makes one grateful for the changing of the seasons and a reminder that perhaps winter is not all that bad.
I slowly made my way around the block as the mantra of Hail Mary’s and beads slipping through my fingers reflected the falling snow. The only sound to break the winter silence was that of shovels scrapping on driveways, the sound only someone from the Midwest could appreciate and fully understand. As I neared the end of the block and my rosary, I passed by one such individual joining the chorus of shovels.
A simple thought silently surfaced in my mind: “What if I offered to help?” Immediately my mind became a battle ground. On one hand, the thought of going up and offering to help seemed so beautiful and wonderful, like a scene from a movie. On the other hand, I was still dressed in my clerics and dress shoes, not the best wear for shoveling, and was beginning to feel cold, ready to go home. In the short five seconds it took to walk by, these two thoughts fought furiously. The latter won. I walked passed and went home.
I do not regret my decision, but I have looked back and asked, “what if?” What if I had helped this stranger shovel his driveway? He certainly would no longer be a stranger. There are many opportunities like this throughout the day, opportunities to go out of our way in a small way and bring goodness, kindness, and love into another’s world. I then began to imagine the kind of world we would live in if these small acts of kindness were everyday occurrences. What a world that would be, a world that could have been realized on a quiet, beautiful snowy day in the height of a Wisconsin winter.