No reason.

“It’s not your job to help them.” “It’s not your job to make them happy.” I have been hearing this a lot lately and can’t help but think “Maybe not, but what if I made it my job? Would the world be just a little bit better?” Sometimes I go ahead and make it my job and sometimes I don’t but the phrase proclaiming that it’s not my job to help someone out has me questioning where our consideration of others lies. Sure, we all need to take care of ourselves primarily and I’m certainly not asking anyone to constantly help people who refuse to help themselves.

What I’m asking is to simply consider the situation when someone makes this proclamation in your presence. I hear this phrase more often in situations where my help would only make another’s life a little easier or maybe even bring hope into a world where it seems we may have lost the art of consideration. One small act of kindness at a time.

I know I have lost a lot of hope in human consideration these days so when I see it, it truly looks astonishing and I appreciate whenever someone goes the extra mile. When given the chance to make a small difference in someones life, is it really a mile though? Sometimes I see it more as an inch, just enough to put a smile on someone’s face and possibly be the icing on the cake to building someone’s trust in humanity. Think about it this way…..if an opportunity arises where you can help someone in a small way such as finishing a task that you have access to, bringing them their favorite drink to get through the day, or going above your job duties in order to lighten the load on another then just do it- even when the person you want to help is not visibly having a bad day. When someone does something for another who didn’t indicate they needed help, it’s even more obvious that human beings can be considerate beyond themselves.

I’d imagine that the majority of happiness is spawned from feeling as if someone else cares, someone else understands, or someone else recognizes that you matter. The weight that resides within human connection has me thinking that we cannot possibly permanently dismiss creating happiness in this way. If anything, we need to increase this particular opportunity. Contrary to popular (and my most recent belief), the hope is that a trust will be built that human consideration for others honestly exists. If you are skeptical like me, make it a point to help build it yourself and I imagine you will see the effects as soon as you see the smiles you create.