There are times when we find ourselves caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's in those situations when we consider how much assistance we desperately need, so if someone was to provide you with that aid wouldn't you desire to return the favor? Or wouldn't you at least thank them? Be the person we all should be.
If you were to come across an old man lying face down in the mud wouldn't you help him? What if he had wings that consumed half his body? Well, in Gabriel Marquez's story, "An Old Man with Enormous Wings," Pelayo had a "kind heart". He dragged the old man out of the mud and brought him back to his house. Or his chicken coop rather. I would've much rather stayed in the mud pit than get tossed in a boisterous chicken coop where the stench is unbearable. It's just inhuman to do that to someone. I even feel bad for the chickens.
Throughout everything, Pelayo and his family of three actually gained from the "angel", but they not once acknowledged that. The day after the "angel" arrived, Pelayo and his wifes child, who was sick with a temperature, got out of bed and was feeling well. Another instance where Pelayo actually gained from the "angel" was when they made a profit off of him. They set up the chicken coop to look like a side show for onlookers to see, and to tease the "angel" as if he was some sort of circus freak. Not to mention all of the profit they recieved from the "angel" was used in vain. They bought the very best linens and upgraded their pity house(shack) into a two story luxury home. They never considered the fact it was the "angel" who brought those luxuries among them. Sometimes you just have to put yourself into the other persons shoes in order to realize the appalling things you do. Maybe then you could realize how much a simple thanks does.
There's been times when I've needed assistance. Onetime I found myself lost in the mall at the age of eight. I wasn't observant of my surroundings, and I somehow managed to walk away from my mom. Not long after I realized my dreadful mistake, a kind old lady helped me find my mom. It relates because at that point I needed someone to reach out and be the person my mom would've been.
Another instance would've been when I didn't stand up for someone being bullied. I knew that if I was in their shoes they wouldn't have hesitated to stand up for me. In that short instance where I kept my mouth shut, I was just as wrong as all the people that came to tease and torment the "angel". Maybe even as wrong as Pelayo and his wife for using the angel's powers in vain.
I authentically reinforced my statement that we all need to be the person we should be. If we actually followed through with that, just imagine how much more apparent the world would be. Where we all treated eachother with respect becasue it's in the nature of any kind- hearted person. Which is, in fact, what we all should be.
