Just One Person

Today, I traveled about 10 miles, round trip, spending a total of about an hour and a half in smoke-hazy air, waited a total of two hours, and worked for one hour, all to help just one person.

It was worth it.

I don't want to give away too many details without anyone's permission, but it turned out that I was uniquely qualified to help this one person, and the person really needed my help. I was glad to be able to help.

Besides, it wasn't an unpleasant experience. For most of those six and a half hours, I felt satisfied and happy.

Plus, it may not be entirely accurate to say that I only helped one person. I only tutored one person, but now that I look back on that time, I answered other people's questions, helped a little bit with some paperwork, and shared laughs with at least three other people. I imagine that those three people's lives were made maybe slightly better by my being there than they would have been had I stayed home.

I also have myself to consider. I had a good experience, and I am going to get paid for some of that time, including all of the time I spent helping my student, so while I was helping "just one person," I was also helping myself.

I'm not sure it's possible to help "just one person." We all touch so many lives. Even an entirely selfish person might inadvertently help others by giving them experiences from which they can learn.

But even if I had somehow managed to help only one person, that still might have been worth my time, because, if nothing else, at least I helped that one person. That may not have had a big impact on the world in general, but I know it had at least some impact on at least one person, and maybe that's all one really needs. I can be satisfied with knowing that at least one person's life was better off by having me in it, and I know I accomplished at least that much today. I'm satisfied.

And, thankfully, I don't have to stop there. Helping even just one person can end up helping quite a few people, and I'm glad that that was the case today. I was blessed too be able to help a handful of people today, even when I was only focusing on one.