Beyond My Small World
The local newspaper is delivered to our home every morning. The paper is delivered by someone driving a car, who tosses the newspaper at the foot of the driveway. Regardless of weather conditions, the paper is delivered around 4:30 am.
As you might expect, I’m usually sleeping at that time. On most days, I go outside to pick up the newspaper around 6:15.
The same man has been delivering the newspaper to our house for about 10 years. I have never met him and thus have no idea what he looks like. I don’t know any details about him, such as his age, marital status, whether he has children, etc.
All I know is that every day (except for a few days in this 10 year period), the newspaper is there when I go outside. It is there when there is intense fog. It is there when it’s raining or snowing.
Do I feel a sense of gratitude each time I pick up the newspaper, in recognition of this man’s efforts? I must confess that I don’t. I don’t think about him at all… except when the newspaper is wet because some rain or snow got inside the plastic wrapping. Then, I mumble something to myself such as “Why didn’t he wrap the plastic bag more carefully so the paper would be dry?”
But other than an occasional minor issue like that, this man does an excellent job of delivering the newspaper. I reap the benefits of his work, as I have the convenience of being able to read the paper early in the day without leaving our home.
The delivery man makes a significant contribution to my life EVERY day. And yet I don’t think about him when I go outside to pick up the paper each day. I am concentrating on getting the newspaper so my wife and I can read it. It’s all about me and my world.
Two days ago, I finally thought about the delivery man because I got a letter from him.
Tucked inside the Sunday newspaper was a letter from the delivery man. It was a typed letter to all of his customers, in response to the gratuities and holiday gifts he received in the mail at the end of last year.
He wrote to thank his customers for their gifts, which he appreciated, especially in these challenging economic times. He talked about how the price of gas has a significant impact on him. He was grateful that the price of gas had fallen recently.
It’s funny. When gas prices were very high about six months ago, I never thought how that might affect the newspaper delivery man. I suppose I was thinking more about how much money I had to take out of my pocket each time I filled my own gas tank.
Sure, I would think about those who might be out of work and couldn’t afford the higher gas prices. But I never gave a moment’s thought to how the high prices might cause a hardship for this man.
In his letter, he also described the challenges he faced making the deliveries in the winter when the roads are snowy and icy. He pointed out that when he delivers the papers so early in the morning, the city or village snow plows haven’t yet plowed the roads. The conditions are much different than they are a few hours later when the rest of us are driving.
He described how he slips and slides on the road, and the difficulties of going up and down hills. I was fascinated to enter his world – the world of driving in snow on unplowed roads around 4 o’clock in the morning!
I never thought about what he had to go through driving on slippery, icy roads before the roads have been plowed. All I cared about on each of those snowy days is whether he successfully delivered MY newspaper, and whether I would have trouble finding it in the snow.
What a limited view I have.
The delivery man’s letter really opened my eyes and allowed me to enter a new world. The world as he sees it and lives it. I have so much more gratitude for what he does, so much more appreciation for the obstacles he faces…so he can deliver my newspaper each day.
I also see the connection, the shared humanity we are a part of. I never saw that before as I picked the newspaper off the driveway each morning. I realized that I would have the same concerns he had, and share many of the feelings he had, if I were the one making the newspaper deliveries.
He even included some insightful words at the end of his letter by saying: “This country needs a big change in attitude (at least some) from me to we. I forget who said this but one of the founding fathers stated that democracy does not work unless everyone takes care of each other and doesn’t think only of the individual. Sounds like good advice.”
Very sound advice, indeed.
This man helped me to see the small world I inhabit, a world concentrated on ME. What a beautiful opening I found when this man gave me a glimpse into his world.
When I walk down the driveway to pick up the newspaper each morning, I’d like to think that my perspective will be a little different from now on. I can now see the human side of what goes on in his world and appreciate all that he does to serve me.
Better yet, I hope I can develop this openness with everyone who crosses my path — the cashier at the checkout in the supermarket, the business executive, and the homeless person on the street. Their lives are rich, and have the potential to enrich my life. We can share the magic of our humanity, if I will only remember to look beyond my small world.
– Jeff Keller
© 2009