Helping - How?

A true story (but not a short one - my apologies!):

A few years after my accident in SF, the one where I "lost" my leg (still hoping it might turn up...) I heard about a kid that lost his leg in a boating accident.  Then, not long after that, I heard about an RCMP officer that lost hers while on duty due to a shotgun wound.

Both of those times (and several others) I went down to Vancouver General Hospital and dropped off a note to be given to the patient.  They weren't taking visitors.  In the note I would usually include a picture (they were paper in those days...) I remember the one I gave to the RCMP officer was of me hiking in the Grand Canyon.  I'd labour over just the right encouraging words, and I'd include my phone number/email address.

I really wanted to help.  It didn't work though....  Talk about an awkward situation I put them in - calling some guy out of the blue to talk about this terrible chapter in your life.  Not surprisingly neither one called.  It definitely wasn't effective.  I sort of knew it was the wrong approach but I had no better ideas.

I knew it wouldn't really work because a guy had done the exact same thing with me in San Francisco.  He spoke to my parents, they decided to let him come in and talk to me.  I HATED IT.  I didn't want him welcoming me to some lame club I wasn't ready to join.  I didn't want to see his leg, hear him talk, or anything....  but I was in no mood to disagree with anyone (and was as high as a kite on morphine) so in he came.  I don't remember a word he said but I do recall he walked quite well.  That was encouraging even if I didn't mention it to anyone at the time.

Fast forward more than a decade......  Helping people is still one of the major goals in my life - but it isn't always easy to figure out how.  I've tried a lot of things but nothing has been as successful as simply talking about life in my blog.

   

One example:  I ran the Haney to Harrison Race in November with the IF team.  At the finish line an older gentleman came up to me and told me about his son who was about to have an elective amputation.  He was about my age, living in Australia.  We chatted and I gave him my website url:

  www.meyrickjonesracing.com.

A few months later his son sent me an e-mail - he and his wife had been reading my blog and enjoying it.  We have been communicating regularly ever since.  I have been downloading a lot of information to him about his new scenario.  It feels GREAT to help someone navigate uncharted waters...  save them some time, some confusion, some pain, some irritation - whatever.  

It's not a one-way street though - before long Mike will be doing all kinds of crazy things and sharing his knowledge with me too...  Many of my readers are just like Mike and I...  many are not, but they know people who are.  Word gets out and it is GREAT!  

Mike recently e-mailed me some questions about swimming - I gave him a few tips - he posted the text of our exchange.  It was rewarding for both of us, but now it exists for others to read and learn from - so they know that their concerns are normal and know how to overcome problems in the water.  That is valuable.  I wish that had existed when I was a new amputee.

Maybe there is an opportunity for you?  (...who me?...) Yes, you.  I know you may not be missing a leg, and you probably don't think your life is 'blogworthy' - I didn't either.  

You probably have one of the following (all of which you could blog about and make a difference):  

a serious interest

a hobby

an addiction

a dysfunctional family

a great skill

no skill

difficult children

no children

a history of violence in the family

a history of peace in the family

an important cause

a lack of an important cause

a disease

perfect health

a creative mind

no creativity at all

a great job

no job

a terrible job

a great sense of humour

a very technical mind

an eye for fashion

no eye for fashion

....  and a zillion other things.

I only write that because I know that most people WANT to make a difference - but wanting to and knowing how are not the same.  I stumbled onto this - maybe it could work for you too...  

P.S.  Even if your efforts only make a positive "difference" for one person (yourself) they will likely be worth the effort you put into your actions.

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