The right time to act is always now, the most important person to focus on is the person you are with, and the most important task is to do good to others.
—the moral of Leo Tolstoy’s “The Three Questions”
Many years ago, as a Registered Nurse, for several weeks I took care of a gravely ill man on a lifesaving ventilator. His eyes looked through me; he wasn’t fully present. Despite his hazy look, I would talk to him as I cared for him. The patient eventually got better, could breathe on his own, and left the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
A few weeks later, a visitor to the hospital approached the ICU to ask if we’d allow his friend to see where he had been a patient. He couldn’t remember his ICU stay; a part of his life was missing. ICUs have strict visiting policies, but we allowed him to come in. The man saw me and gasped, “You’re real! I thought you were an angel!” Tears streamed down his face when he realized that the “angels” who cared for him in his bleakest hour were real people, not celestial beings.
I was stunned. Me, an angel?! I was doing what nurses do: provide good nursing care, nothing extraordinary. But witnessing his reaction was very emotional for me; a reminder of why I became a nurse: being compassionate and relieving suffering was an important guiding light.
This experience also reminded me that the most important time is now—being fully present—and that the most important person is the person in front of us, whether they’re a person we’re “supposed” to help, a friend, or a stranger.
The “right thing to do” might be giving someone else what they need the most as they struggle in the fog searching for a way forward. Kindness is immeasurable. You may be someone’s angel, their salvation–even if it’s just them calling you for the third time, looking for reassurance or help to navigate technology.
As we journey through this period of despair, I feel better knowing we are traveling together. Some of us have lost jobs, are in marginalized communities, and/or feel vulnerable on numerous levels. Knowing how important it is to get through this time together, may we all choose to extend kindness to one another.
Prayer
O Holy Ones, please help us through this period of gloom and remind us that each of us has the power to shine light and this light, when reflected back to us, will be brighter and make each of us stronger.