Caring About Others

When I grew up in a Baptist minister's home, I was taught early on to care about others. Not just caring about their souls, but also about their emotional side. Growing up, I was like a sponge. I absorbed everything, which made me what I am today. A caring soul. As I was being abused by my peers in junior high and high school, I formed a group called "The Walter Durst Society for Human Rights". It was a small group, but we did actually have members. It was a group focused on the needs for people to be treated equally. I also was very concerned about pollution and the need for social change. When I went to college, it became the "United Society", which just happened to have the same initials as the "United States". It was more focused on the political and social climate in the country. I worked hard to have a stream cleaned up in downtown Anderson SC. It was near children and pets, and was quite toxic. When I went to seminary, I saw first-hand about the abuse of women at the hands of men. I got involved in women's rights. When I moved back to Columbia, I lived with my parents and saw the need of the rights for seniors. I also got involved in the United Way, because they provided Meals on Wheels. My parents would have starved without it. I also saw the need for children's rights through my writing and performing puppet shows for inner-city kids in Philadelphia PA and Smyrna TN. The common thread throughout all of these social issues is that no one has the right to abuse another, and everyone has rights. It all goes back to caring. Sometimes I think I care too much at the expense of my own needs. That is probably right. And I think that sometimes my friends get a little sick at my concern for their needs. There are even some people who misinterpret my concerns. I learn lessons every day about the need to care. One day, I was in downtown Columbia and saw a homeless man looking for money in pay phones. Two well-dressed men walked by him. One yelled out to the homeless man, "Get a job". They laughed and walked away. The homeless man pretended not to hear, but he did. People can be so insensitive of others. We just want to get where we are going, and not be bothered by the needs of others. I have seen this in my own life, when I needed help, and folks just didn't want to be bothered. We need to change that perception. People are readily willing to help others they don't know in lands far away, but they don't take the time to lok around in their own community for the needs of others. My mother used to say that I had a very caring soul. She was right. I care. It would be nice that when I leave this world that someone will say that I made a difference in this place. That would be the highest compliment one could bestow on me. I just want to make a difference and make this world a better place. Does that sound like a dreamer? I suppose so, but all of the best ideas in life has started as dreams. "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one." Together we can do great things. I care.