The morning of a lifetime

Kyle knew the world held much more beauty than what could be seen with the naked eye. He believed there was more to life than the get-up-and-go, 9-5, competing with the Jones’s, social media driven, 9-5 consumerism, corporate America that he had come to accustomed to. As Kyle sat on the wooden park bench on a cold February morning, he reflected on the daily news reports that highlighted crime, war, fear mongering and everything in between. He remembered the conversation he had with his nephew, Alex, who had been diagnosed with stage 2 cancer. “I wish I was never born because Mommy wouldn’t have to worry me”. Kyle’s sister, Allison, is a single mother who has been struggling financially with the cost of Alex’s treatments. Kyle sat frozen in the reality of how his lovable, cheerful nephew had become solemn and reclusive over the past several months, not knowing if he his mom would be able to continue to afford treatment for him.

As the chill from the crisp morning air pierced into the sides of Kyle’s ribcage, the heaviness in his heart weighed him further down into the bench. Kyle was completely and utterly sick of living the same life day in and day out, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders and being completely helpless to it all. His heart ached for his nephew. His eyes began to fill with tears. He blinked, and one teardrop ran from the outside corner of his left eye, over his cheek and down to his chin. The moisture on his face drew the cold air closer and he clenched a little more. In that moment, he saw a metaphor for life. He could either sit on the bench, allowing the temperature to continue to make him shiver, while sitting still and being completely overwhelmed by it all. Or, he could get up and move; start circulating the blood throughout his body, creating heat by taking physical action to create change, despite the current environment.

And so that is what Kyle did. He stood up abruptly and began walking down the paved trail. He began breathing in deeply, allowing his lungs to fully expand. He then exhaled slowly, watching his breath disperse into thin air. He did this several times which created a soothing and peaceful effect. He noticed the tension is his shoulders and neck had released. A wave energy rushed over him, and in that moment, he felt an overwhelming urge to run. One foot in front of the other, slowly increasing his speed. His heart was pumping the oxygenated blood to every working muscle. Kyle’s body temperature increased and the chill he felt in his ribcage soon dissipated.

Kyle felt free for the first time in a long time! How quickly his mindset had changed, along with the noticeable internal changes, just from talking one small step, and then another. As he continued to jog along the path, he noticed an older woman struggling to walk with her cane up the hill ahead. Kyle thought, “what a perfect opportunity to take action and do something good for this world.” With that, he ran toward the woman to assist her.

The woman was hunched over, with her cane in her right hand. She was wearing a large black parka, a scarf, mitts and a toque. She seemed well prepared for the temperate Kyle thought. “Good morning, my name is Kyle, would you like some assistance up the hill?” The woman replied, “Oh yes, that would be wonderful! Thank you so much!” Kyle interlaced his arm with the woman’s arm, and continued the climb together. They chatted a bit, making small talk. Somehow Kyle began talking about his nephew, Alex, and how his sister, Allison, was struggling to afford his cancer treatments. The woman sympathized with him and thanked him for helping her up the hill.

The more Kyle looked at the woman, the more he noticed that she was not actually as old has he thought. Behind the big, boxed, thick-framed glasses, he did not notice any visible wrinkles around her eyes. Her scarf covered the bottom of her face, so Kyle could not make out the rest of her. Kyle’s curiosity got the best of him and he had to ask, “I am sorry to ask this Miss, but how old are you? You look so much younger than I thought!”

That is when the woman slowly removed her scarf, her glasses, dropped her cane and stood up straight. Kyle was in shock! The woman appeared to be in her mid 30’s with long brown hair and a beautiful, olive complexion. He recognized her from somewhere but could not place it. “My name is Katrina! Do you recognize me? I am from the Do Good-ers show and we have been doing a social experiment about humanity in today’s world! Do you know about forty people passed me as I was attempting to walk up this hill, but you are the only one who offered to help?” Kyle stood there in disbelief. Frozen again, just like he was on the wooden bench just moments before. Katrina continued, “We actually have a prize for you! $20,000!” Kyle’s jaw dropped! He looked around and noticed cameramen coming out from behind the trees along the side of the path.

Katrina pulled out a little black notebook and pen from her purse that she draped diagonally across her body. “I will just need your details. If you could jot down your name, number, email address and phone number in this notebook, we can arrange for the funds to be sent to you in the next few days!” Kyle took the notebook and pen from Katrina, opened the notebook and stared in disbelief at the blank page. “How does it feel? What will you do with the money?”

Kyle broke his fixed gaze from the blank page and looked up at Katrina who had a huge smile on her face and tears in her eyes. He knew that she knew what his answer would be. “Without a doubt, this money is going to help save my nephew’s life! It’s all for him! I cannot than you enough, I just cannot believe this!”

Katrina and the crew members each took their turn hugging Kyle. Katrina said she would be contacting him in the next few days and gave him her business card. They said their goodbyes and the crew members headed toward the white van that was parked on the street ahead. Just as Katrina was about to follow her crew members, she turned back to Kyle and said, “I cannot think of a more situation to aware this money to. I can tell you are a very caring person but don’t allow the weight of the world to sit on your shoulders, it will hinder the love you have to share with this world. Your mind is a powerful thing, when you fill it with positive thoughts, your world will begin to change”. She smiled at him again, Kyle smiled back.

Kyle stood alone at the top of the hill. Filled with emotion, disbelief, wonder and excitement. He pulled out his phone from his coat pocket and dialed his sister. Allison picked up, “Hey Kyle, what’s up?”. Kyle replied, “You are never going to believe what just happened!”.