Illuminate Your Part of the World

“Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” Matthew 10:8

The writer, Elizabeth Gilbert, wrote about being stuck in a bus in New York City during rush hour. Everyone was sort of in a bad mood. As the bus approached the intersection, the driver spoke on the intercom. “Folks," he said, "I know you have had a rough day and you are frustrated. I can’t do anything about the weather or traffic, but here is what I can do. As each one of you gets off the bus, I will reach out my hand to you. As you walk by, drop your troubles into the palm of my hand, okay? Don’t take your problems home to your families tonight, just leave them with me. My route goes right by the Hudson River, and when I drive by there later, I will open the window and throw your troubles in the water.” 

The mood changed. Smiles and laughter were exchanged. Passengers were suddenly talking to each other in amusement and delight. At the next stop, the driver put his palm up and the exiting commuters pretended to drop their burdens into it. Some smiled, some laughed, and some teared up. At the next stop he did it again, and the next. And then he dropped all of it in the Hudson River. 

It was a simple thing the driver did, but it required some courage on his part. Courage to acknowledge how hard life can be at times, and how we all need a friend to help us with our burdens. We are usually alone, carrying the fear, uncertainty, hopelessness, or misery. Don’t we all need someone to remind us that there is light, there is hope and grace, if only we can find it? What if we can be that person? 

Elizabeth Gilbert summed up her experience, “No matter who you are, or where you are, or how mundane or tough your situation may seem, I believe you can illuminate your world. In fact, I believe this is the only way the world will ever be illuminated, one bright act of grace at a time, all the way to the river."