The Gift of It's Not My Job

A simple photo by my husband...

I have shared this poem before.  It is called "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer.  It was set to music by Oscar Rosbach.  I believe that this little musing embodies Grandaddy Burgess.  He was a simple, yet great man who loved nature, to work with his hands. I sang this last year.  Please enjoy.

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of It’s Not My Job

“Never say, “That’s not my job.  That oozes arrogance and laziness.  Chip in to help with what needs to be done, even if it's not your responsibility.  So what needs to be done or help someone find the solution. Period.  Even when no one is watching.”

Unknown

How many times have you heard someone say, “That’s not my job! I will just go away.”

“I don’t know how to do it, I don’t think I can help.”

Are all common phrases that are spoken and felt. 

It may not be your job, and you may not know how to do it. 

But just the act of support can help the person struggling through it. 

Through the confusion, the work and even the toil.

Being present is a great tool. 

Say things like, “How can I support you or give you a hand?”

This is much better than not giving a helping hand. 

The concept of sowing and reaping applies to our lives each day. 

Are you sowing seeds on dry and sandy ground?

By not helping others, that seed is cast on the infertile ground. 

When the harvest time comes, your field will be bare. 

And no one will be there when you need a helping hand. 

Sow the seeds of good deeds on fertile ground, water it with kindness and goodwill toward those around. 

When the harvest comes and you are in need. 

Your field will be a full and bountiful harvest, good and hearty for your soul. 

So give a helping hand and your crop will grow tenfold. 

My mother without fail always had us at church each and every time the doors were open.  We were at Sunday School without fail.  One story that has stuck with me over the years was the parable of sowing and reaping.  The sower goes to sow his seed.  Some fell on the wayside, some fell on thorns, others fell and the birds devoured them.  Some were trampled down,and others fell amongst rocks and sprung up but quickly died because of the lack of moisture.  As Jesus continues on, he refers to the seed as the Bible or his teachings.  To sum it up, sowing seeds in places where there is no real way for growth is never going to yield a fruitful crop.  Where are you sowing your seeds?  What are you giving into the universe?  A simple act of holding a door open for someone is sowing goodness into the universe and into your life.  Put up the grocery carts, give the clerks a break who have to fetch them from the parking lot here, there and everywhere.  Things folks ask for may or may not be our job but we can offer to help.  My husband’s late grandfather was a Methodist preacher for many, many years.  He was probably one of the most humble men I have encountered in my life.  He did not have a big personality.  He was just a man with a good heart.  He sowed a lot of goodness to the communities that he served by with no great fanfare helping the needy.  Clothing the poor, teaching the tenets of Christianity such as love your neighbor as yourself.  My husband recently told me he took on the KKK and successfully had them stand down from their acts of hate.  He just wanted to sow goodness.  When I married my husband, he was probably about eighty years old and retired with his wife Emily.  They lived in a very small modest house, and they planted the most amazing gardens.  It was always an exciting time when we would go to Grandmother and Grandaddy’s and eat their vegetables that they canned from the garden.  He took our children with him to show them his pride and joy of the garden.  As he aged, his wife of over seventy years passed.  After that, he was never quite the same.  He started having memory problems and had to be put in a home.  When my husband and I went to see him shortly before he died, he did not recognize us.  My husband knelt down and asked him to tell him about his favorite book.  Without hesitation he said, “The Bible. It teaches us to be kind to one another.” Say what you will about the Bible and religion in general.  But this great man lived the greatest snippets of the scripture.  He never said, “That’s not my job.”  He always led with, “How can I help?”  At his funeral, many people talked of this great man’s legacy.  He did not shout it from the mountain tops that he was the best.  He simply lived a life that gave back to the universe for his ninety-six years on this earth.  That is truly a standard to strive for.