"People are happy helping. It's never hard to find help. It is only
hard to know that it's time to ask."
Maurice Sendak, Brundibar
As one who is reluctant to ask for help, Sendak's quote struck home.
If you have children, you probably know who Maurice Sendak is. If you pay
attention to the news, you probably know that Maurice Sendak died at the age of
83 on May 8th. Sendak was a children's author. Perhaps his best known book was
"Where The Wild Things Are."
I didn't realize what an amazing man he was until I heard Fresh Air
on NPR with Terry Gross on May 8th. Terry replayed four interviews she had done
with Sendak over the years.
Brundibar" (2003), with text by the playwright Tony Kushner, is based
on an opera performed by the children of the Theresienstadt concentration camp.
The opera, also called "Brundibar," had been composed in 1938 by Hans
Krasa, a Czech Jew who later died in Auschwitz.
Now back to the quote I used at the beginning.
Many people, myself included, grew up with the myth of the rugged
individualist who carved a path through the western wilderness all by himself.
Think Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett and "Buffalo Bill" Cody. Imagine
any western movie ("High Noon" is one of the better examples) where
the hero, abandoned by the town, stares down the bad guy in a gun fight to the
death.
Of course, those lone heroes are all anomalies. In the West in particular
cooperation and helping one another were a necessity for survival. Living far
from civilization required depending on one's fellow human beings for help.
This is true today as it was then. The next time you're in an airplane going
west at night, notice how few and far between are the lights between cities
west of the Mississippi versus the fairly constant light show seen from the sky
in the East.
But believing the myth of the individual acting alone, it may be hard to
ask for help. Many of us have the belief that we're weak if we have to ask for
help.
As Sendak notes, the hard part is in the asking. People want to make a
difference. They want to contribute to others. But no one can contribute unless
someone is willing to ask for that contribution.
So the real difference is made not only by the person who provides the help
but equally by the person who asks for it.
So make a contribution to someone today. Ask for help. Make a request. Make
two. Or three.
I have been an author, speaker and consultant since 1984. I help
organizations, teams and individuals produce breakthroughs in results and
relationships. Visit my websites to learn about the resources I offer.
http://www.conflictresolutiontraining.net
Simple, easily learned techniques for resolving the conflicts in your work and personal life. Here you can buy my book where you will be guided through the steps to resolve any conflict in your life.
Simple, easily learned techniques for resolving the conflicts in your work and personal life. Here you can buy my book where you will be guided through the steps to resolve any conflict in your life.
http://www.larrybarkan.com
Workshops and resources for leadership, management, team and personal training and development.
Workshops and resources for leadership, management, team and personal training and development.
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