General Music Chat

Pete,

It's a good thing that you had enough understanding of fires, to not go in and get yourself killed, especially since the man wasn't home at the time.

But no, you aren't crazy, you simply care enough for others, that your first impulse is to help, even when the stakes are high.

That's commendable, and a wonderful thing to find out about yourself.

And yes, it's a little scary, when you think...

"What the hell did I just do? I could have been killed myself!"

Our military and firefighters sometimes live that way of life on a daily basis.

THAT is humbling.

If anyone deserves our unwavering support and prayers, it is them.

Mike,

We cannot always be sure what we are made of until it is tested in the most serious or desperate of circumstances.


So, I don't know what I am fully capable of. I cannot know this, unless or until, that day or those years, present themselves.

I don't think anyone can know...

Until they REALLY know.

god give burdens also shoulders.... so I guess I haven't been tested like that cause I'm a heaping pile of selfishness (but at least I know that!).

Then again if I had been at virginia tech and had a gun...

As a young guy, I saw my father dive through the open window of a car that was rolling backwards into traffic, & stop it. There was a little kid inside who had released the emergency brake. Somehow my dad managed to reach the brake pedal & then set the emergency brake, all while dangling 1/2 out of the driver's window. I thought it looked pretty funny at the time, but I was, like, 9 years old or so.

This act earned my dad 3 cracked ribs & a thank you in the personals section of the local paper, cuz he didn't stick around to meet the parents. He put the kid in the back seat & secured him in a seat belt, which were kinda new at the time in some cars.

As I recall, my dad regretted the act every time he moved. There was a lot of cussing involved. But later, when it struck me what he'd really done, it eleveated him in my eyes quite a bit, cuz not only did he save the lil tyke, but he'd seriously risked his own life to do so.

My mom was so proud of him, though. He'e end up yelling at her every time she told the story, but she never stopped telling it. Then he'd try to downplay what he'd actually done, but I was there, & I know what happened.

Eh...it's a shame we didn't get along better. He had a lot of good points.

That's a touching story Phil.

We all have regrets with relationships in our lives. You've found the heart to put things in perspective. Some people can't even find that peace, and carry anger with them to the grave.

The whole world could use a little more of many of the things mentioned:

A little more sacrifice for others.

A little more understanding of one another.

A little more forgiveness.

A little more peace.

Just a little more.

I've always believed that if EVERYONE gave just a little more, tried just a little more, that we'd see A GREAT DEAL of progress toward better families, better communities... a better world.

Thanks for sharing!

Mike, don't discount yourself so easily.

The fact that you admitted you have room for improvement in the selfishness department, means your conscience is speaking to you. This alone may represent something larger than you realize. I suspect when that day of testing does come your way, you will surprise yourself.

Some people have buried their conscience so deep that they are oblivious to the need for improvement. They PRIDE THEMSELVES on their selfishness. Honesty with one's self, is the beginning of EVERYTHING. Without that fist step, there will be no real growth, because such a person denies the need for growth, for change.

I had a friend once, from Ecuador. After we had been friends awhile, he shared a burden he had carried for many years. When he was still in his country, something had happened which caught a person's clothes on fire. He didn't know to drop and roll, and ran instead, making it worse. Screaming and yelling for someone to help him. He fell down near my friend, and my friend thought that he should lay over him to smother the fire out, but my friend had just spent a great deal of money on the new clothes he was wearing, and he didn't want to destroy them with dirt and burn marks. So he stood back and did nothing.

The person died from his burns. Right before my friend's eyes.

Now he has to live the rest of his life with the knowledge, that on that day, he valued some pants and a shirt, over a human being's life. He could have possibly protected someone's son, someone's brother, someone's husband, someone's father that day.

Instead, he protected a new shirt.

Before you give up on yourself, and give up trying to grow in heart, just remember how far selfishness can really go.