A brief act of kindness brings an unexpected insight.

I was shopping at a department store and had just boarded the down escalator when I noticed a woman standing¹ to the side. She looked about 65, and her expression told me she was scared. I turned toward her and asked, " Do you need help?" As the escalator continued moving I heard the woman reply softly, " I’m afraid." There was a hint of incredulity in her voice." Want me to come back and get you?" I called to her. She nodded. But by the time I reached her, the woman had reconsidered. " I don’t think I can do it," she said. I was suddenly aware that I had made a far greater investment than I expected." I know we can do it," I said. " I can hold on to you." She looked down at the beast. Then her eyes came back to mine, looking doubtful. " This has never happened to me before," she said, as much to herself as to me. I felt that her sudden fear had to do with the escalator’s mechanical nature, its basic inhuman² untrustworthiness. I took her arm. " Shall we?" She made a little sound of alarm as we stepped on, but we’d passed the point of no return. She relaxed slightly as the stairs moved us downward." I don’t understand this at all," she said. As we neared the bottom, her grip tightened³ again, but we did fine." I’m so grateful..." she began." It was nothing," I said. " I was happy to do it." Happy, yes. I do very little to help others. I am busy caring for a family and working full time. For a brief moment, I had a flash of insight into why someone would become a nurse or a social worker or a minister. When I helped the woman, I felt pure and whole, purposeful. It was a happier moment than I’d had in weeks.

一次简单的善意帮助却带来了出乎意料的领悟。

我到一家百货商店买东西，就在我踏上自动扶梯刚要下楼时，突然注意到扶梯边站着一位妇女。她看上去差不多有65岁，从她脸上的表情可以看出她很害怕。于是我转向她问道：“需要帮忙吗?”自动扶梯载着我向下移动着，我只听到她用低低的声音回答："我很怕。"声音中流露出一丝迟疑。“要我回来帮你吗？”我冲着她叫道，她点了点头。我又回到了楼上，可老人却改变了主意。“我不行。”她说。直到这时，我才突然意识到这件事并不像我原想的那样简单。“我们能行，”我说，“我会搀扶着你。”她低下头，看着那个庞然大物，随后她转回来，看着我，目光中满是疑虑；“我以前从未遇到过这种情况。”她说道，既像是在对我，又像是在自言自语。我觉得老人这种突如其来的恐惧与自动扶梯的机械性质有关--它归根结底是非人性的东西，很难给人以安全感。我拉起她的胳臂，问道：“可以吗？”我们迈上扶梯时，她轻轻地尖叫了一声。然而，既然我们已踏上了扶梯，也就不能再回头了。直到扶梯载着我们下行了一段，她才略微放松下来。“我一点也不明白这种东西，”她说。我们接近扶梯底部时，她又一次紧紧抓住我，但我们顺利走下了扶梯。“我不知怎么谢你才好……”她开口说道。“这没什么，”我说，“我很高兴这样做。”我很高兴，的确如此。平时我很少帮助别人，整日忙于工作和照顾家庭。就在这一刹那，我突然明白了为什么有人会去做护士、社会工作者或者牧师。在我帮助这位妇女的时候，我感到我的生活是纯粹、完整和有意义的。这是我几周来最高兴的时刻。