“Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” ~ Lao Tzu
Shawn was
feeling a little full of himself . . . and looking to pick a fight this
morning.
Sheryl was running late for work. The
demands of raising three children and holding down a full-time job weighed
heavily on her. As she pulled her white Cadillac XT6 into the parking
structure, Shawn sauntered by and said, "I wonder how many people could
have been fed for the money that fancy SUV cost?
Instead of reacting impulsively, Sheryl
took a deep breath, a brief moment of mindful presence.
“It helped feed hundreds of families near
Arlington, Texas who built it. It helped provide clothing for the children
whose parent labored making the tires, components, and electronics that went
into it. It helped aluminum, steel and copper miners build homes for their
families and support schools in their communities. And it provided health
insurance for truckers who hauled finished vehicles to the dealers who sell and
maintain them.”
“But to be honest, I don’t know
precisely how many people it helped feed,” she said. “Can I show you one more
thing?”
Shawn nodded awkwardly as she motioned
for him to look at her license plate.
“Yea, MD 1692,” he scoffed. “So what?”
“At 16,” she began, “I packed my things, left my
dysfunctional family and moved to California. Those were some of the hardest
years of my life, but the same adversity that made for a trying childhood also
taught me how to thrive amid challenging circumstances.
That grit drove traditional measures of success. I got
married, worked as a HS biology teacher, and earned a master’s degree in
education. All while raising three children.
I even found time for volunteering after work at local
hospitals ... and dreamed of becoming a doctor. So, I applied for medical
school. More than 2 dozen schools turned me down. But I never gave up hope.
I drew the attention of a school in Barbados that looked
beyond my lack-luster undergrad GPA and considered other factors. Now, after
earning my M.D. in 1992, I returned here to become a physician and serve the
community.
Please don’t misunderstand me, sharing with others is
still an important responsibility for us all. But, when you buy something, you
put money in people’s pockets and give them dignity for their skills. Give
money the car may’ve cost to a soup kitchen, and it will give you a pleasantly
warm feeling for having done a good deed. Soon the money will be gone, and the
kitchen will need more. And so will the people it feeds.
And if no one ever bought that expensive SUV, what would
happen to all those workers who benefitted from my purchase of it?”
