The Good Samaritan

I read a social science research report recently regarding what impacts people to act as Good Samaritans. This was a small study of less than 100 people and as far as I know it has not been duplicated. The results indicated (with some significance) that the primary factor of how frequently people stop to assist when they come upon an apparent emergency is how busy they perceive themselves to be. at the time. For instance, if they are late for a meeting; less likely to stop, if they feel hassled, again, less likely stop.

Outside influences impact us all. But so can being mindful in the moment. I was at a retreat recently when they invoked Gandhi. He was reportedly frequently late for meetings because if he came across and animal or human that needed help, he’d stop and help before progressing on to his meeting. Taking time, “small things” do make a differnece.

I recently had an opportunity to be a Good Samaritan: I observed an older, disheveled and drunken man fall on the sidewalk downtown. I was a passenger, a friend was driving, there was a fair amount of foot traffic. When we saw him fall I asked my friend to stop and I got out to help. The man was very confused. I quickly discovered that he had fallen several times prior to our arrival; another Good Samaritan had helped the man get up moments earlier. He’d walked less than a few hundred feet and fallen again. The man struggled to sit up, but could not. My friend had seen him hit his head when he fell. There was no blood. I gently encouraged him to lay still. I asked him his name and if he was hurt (no), where he lived (around the corner). He could not recall his address.

The activity attracted additional attention. Soon there were five people around the man. With some urgency, I took charge and asked if someone had a phone to call for assistance (I’d left mine in the car). One of the people produced a phone and called for an ambulance. person who identify himself as a friend of the injured man advocated for assistance to get him up. As getting him up had not been useful and he had hit his head on the sidewalk, I advocated for him to stay put. As I said this, I was aware that my voice took on a note of urgency. I was cold, not wanting to hold up my friend and worried for the elderly man. I had also noted he was not dressed appropriately for the weather and shoes that were tripping hazards.

At that point the man on the sidewalk lifted his head, looked at me and said “Are you mad at me?” I bent down and looked into his eyes and spoke the first thing that came to my heart. “I am not mad at you. I am afraid for you.” He was silent for a moment. His eyes filled with tears, he said “I’m scared too”. I kept by his side for a time and told him again that help was on the way. His friend had stepped aside and was watching. Another person arrived, more time passed. His friend and two other Samaritans stayed with the man, who was (I assume) taken to hospital for evaluation and treatment. I left before the ambulance arrived to continue on with my friend.

My moment of clarity was when he responded to the urgency in my voice. Likely due to his past experiences, he thought I was mad. It seemed that was a moment of grace; two fearful people wanting to have hope and one also struggling to retain some dignity. I don’t know what happened at the hospital. Did he have a head injury? Did he accept treatment?

It touched my heart that so many people stopped to help. It gives me hope to see and experience such things. There was a moment of Grace in this experience. It is a blessing; knowing when to act. To do what we can, when we can.

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It DOES!” - William James

Blessings, Carla