Think about somebody else

I heard a story on NPR Story Corps Friday morning on the way to work. Not very often you hear something that kinda stops you in your tracks and really makes you think. This story was very thought provoking. If you want to hear it.. go to NPR and listen to the whole thing.

It was a story about a Dr. Greer. He had worked with needy people a lot. He could point to one day at a clinic as a defining moment in his career and in his life. He was seeing some patients around lunchtime — a mother and her children, who had been staying at a Salvation Army shelter. Greer tells the story: "Her youngest son — I guess, about 6 years old — had a sweet smile. And I handed him my sandwich," Greer said. "And the kid took the sandwich out of the bag, unwrapped it, broke it in half, took a couple of bites and then stuck it back in the wrapper. And I couldn't figure out why the kid was doing that. "And I asked the kid, 'Why'd you do that?' " The little boy looked up and said, "It's for my brother."

"And that was probably one of the most important lessons I ever learned," Greer said. "That a 6-year-old homeless child is teaching us what we're all supposed to do: think about somebody else."