Love with no Limits
Peter was upset. He was said to be ‘inconsiderate’ by all the people.
‘Be considerate! Think about what we would be feeling that you take away and use our stationery without any prior notifications!’ some classmates asked with fury.
‘Why didn’t you help me carry the fruits? I was so exhausted!’ Mum roared.
What the people blamed about and demanded from him was whirling his mind, torturing him nearly to the fringe of death. He himself didn’t know why and how he had been so inconsiderate for the others.
‘Why am I so inconsiderate? What is happening to me, Dad?’ Peter asked his dad, full of doubt and distress.
‘It may be because you haven’t shown enough love, appreciation and kindness to the people around you,’ Dad replied in a calm tone.
‘Yes! He refused to help me carry the fruits while coming back home! They were so heavy!’
‘Then, this may be your starting point. Offering a helping hand to others may be what you can do—simple enough,’ Dad continued.
‘But sometimes I am really so tired!’
‘Then you should train yourself. At first it may be tiring to help people but afterwards you will get used to it. Also, helping others will become a regular habit of yours, making helping people easier.’
The next day, when Peter was travelling on the MTR, he saw an empty seat left by a leaving woman. He then sat on it. Yet, an old woman came near just in a few seconds. Peter saw it, and became lost, because he had to face the first struggle.
‘If I don’t give the seat to the old woman, I would feel more comfortable because I am so tired now, but I won’t become considerate. If I surrender the seat, I would be one step closer to being considerate but wouldn’t feel comfortable. I am so tired. What should I do? Why are there so many elderlies in Hong Kong? What a severe ageing population Hong Kong is having!’ he thought, ‘But the seat is something I must sacrifice to be kind! It is so hard to choose!’
He began to count his fingers. ‘Not give, give, not give, give…’he counted. Eventually he counted ‘give’. He then decided to give his seat to the woman who was old.
‘Please sit down here,’ as Peter told the old woman to occupy his seat, things did not go as Peter expected. The woman replied to him that she was going to exit at that station. ‘What? No! Please sit down!’ Peter insisted the old woman should sit down but the old woman refused, ‘Thank you! I really thank you for your kindness and generosity! But I can’t sit down. If I sit down, I can hardly stand up again because my feet are not strong enough,’
Peter felt so disappointed. Peter tried to help other people but this time he failed to do it early. He was too late to give his seat to the old woman. He told all the things which happened on the train to Dad at home. Dad told Peter to relax, and advised him not to be so nervous,
‘Everything has its first time. It doesn’t matter that it fails at the first time because we learn from the first failure. If we don’t fail, how can we achieve success in later? Peter, what have you learned from this incident that you couldn’t offer the seat to the woman in time?’
‘Helping people should be a spontaneous action. No delay, thinking or struggling.’
‘Well, that’s good! You’ve made your very first step that you hadn’t made earlier! You now have a ready heart to help people! Afterwards what you need to do is to only looking for new opportunities to offer help in a different ways. Don’t give up! Cheer up, man!’ Dad continued to encourage Peter, putting his arm around Peter’s shoulder.
‘I’m back!’ Mum came into the house with lots of heavy bags of vegetables and meat for the dinner. ‘Mum, let me help you! Are the vegetables to be put into the fridge?’ Peter immediately rushed to Mum and asked quickly nearly without thinking. ‘Yes…’ Mum had a little doubt about the newly established behavior of Peter, ‘the vegetables are to be used after cooking the meat and for the meat, please don’t put it into the fridge because I am going to use it very soon. What is going on with you?’ Seeing this, Dad smiled.
Peter started the mission of helping people at home. He tried hard to help with his mum’s cooking, cleaned up the table, and washed the dishes afterwards, and sometimes helped clean the toilet! Soon he became familiar with doing all housework.
He then started his plan at school. He used to forget to bring his stationery and always took away the others’ without telling them. He then tried hard to remember to bring his stationery case every day to school in order to prevent the ‘unpleasant situation’. After a few weeks, he could remember to bring all the required stationery every day and even could lend the others his. Ever since, no one blamed him again for this reason. Although sometimes the others took away his pens or ruler without telling him, he still accepted them.
‘I used to be like them. That’s why I understand their need and feeling,’ Peter explained.
One day when he was going home after school, he came across a serious accident. At that time, he was travelling home from school by MTR. When the train just departed from the Admiralty Station, something went weird. The air started to become smelly, like something was burning. He then went to other compartments of the train. He was shocked. He could see a huge flame in front of him in the front compartment of the train. The flame then was split into two, where one of them was on a girl. She looked young, about 15. Peter was shocked. He could not bear watching a girl being burnt. He first pressed the emergency button on the train. He then took off his coat, starting to cover it on the girl for a few times, trying to extinguish the fire.
‘Stop! It’s too dangerous!’ The people aside warned him, trying to stop him from putting himself in danger. However, he was too determined to be stopped. Instead, he persuaded those people to join with him to help save the girl. The people aside were then also touched by his perseverance, starting to take off their coats to help put out the fire. Before they arrived at the Tsim Sha Tsui Station, fortunately the situation had been under control, not becoming any worse.
They were then led out of the train by the staff and the firemen, having their bodies being examined. Two of them had caught fire and Peter then tried hard to use his coat to help extinguish the fire. The other people at Tsim Sha Tsui Station then all united to help. Some asked for extra water for extinguishing the fire. Some also used their coats to put out the fire. After half an hour, with their hard efforts, all the fire had gone.
Dad and Mum had been so frightened as Peter did not go home after the school had ended for a long time. When they turned on the TV, they saw Peter delivering a statement.
‘The fire was so big that it hurt a few people. But with all our efforts, the firemen’s, the policemen’s and that of the passers-by, we have achieved a success in extinguishing the fire. We all tried so hard to stop this disaster. We could not predict it in the first place but we could stop and cure it afterwards with all our efforts!’ Peter cried with tears of joy. Indeed, Peter helped a lot. With Peter’s inspiration, the people around who had different roles in stopping this fire, tried even harder to stop the fire.
‘I am so proud of you!’ Mum cried in front of the TV even Peter was still not home, ‘You’ve changed a lot! You’ve learnt to be considerate and also, to try hard to help other people!’ When Peter came back, Mum exactly repeated those words. For Dad, he used to remain calm in any situation, but this time, he could not hide his cheer and pride from Peter.
‘I am so proud of you! You have learnt to be considerate first. Second, you became determined of having a helpful heart and taking action. Thirdly you tried hard to help people anytime and anywhere. Fourth, you succeeded in helping people and spreading the spirit of helping others!’
The process of the changing of Peter is extremely inspiring. He was not afraid of any danger but insisted on having a helpful heart. Before that, he failed to help the old woman but with the encouragement from his dad he could insist on having the helpful heart. His selfless act has shown love and kindness to the others. His such spirit will endure by being spread by the people.
Peter then thanked his dad, ‘You were the one who inspired me how to become a helpful person. When I failed the first time, you didn’t tell me to give up but be determined to have a helpful heart. You are the one who has been encouraging me. You are the one who spread the message and spirit of helping others. What I have achieved now is totally because of you! Thank you Dad!’
Both Peter and Dad went into pours of tears. Seeing this, Mum also went into pours of tears. They hugged one another.
Surely, Dad was also the important one who spread the message and spirit of helping one another to Peter. He also encouraged him and showed unlimited appreciation and kindness and support to Peter. His selfless act has shown love and kindness to the others. His spirit will be passed on to others being spread by the people, and Peter had proved it already.
Peter and his dad are the two people who are our role models. We should learn from them to help others by offering unconditional help and even showing unlimited love, appreciation and kindness to them.