Recently I ventured into my local Borders and came across a bargain of a book. For $1.95 “The Good Deed Guide – Simple Ways To Make The World A Better Place” by James and Lisa Grace, was mine. Now it had been reduced multiple times but I didn’t let that put me off.
Who doesn’t want to make the world a better place? Most parents will tell this is their sole purpose in life.
We want to make the world a better place, we want to leave the world in a better condition than what we received it and we want to raise thoughtful, generous, charitable human beings.
And now there is a book that can help us with that.
So what could this book teach me that I didn’t already instinctively know?
Well it has a ‘How to Help an Injured Bird’. Okay that could be useful but never in my 37 years have I had to rescue bird. But I’m not dead yet, anything could happen.
‘How to Treat a Child’s Skinned Knee’. Okay this one is a bit much no? Isn’t this something that we just know how to do? Step no. 6 (with illustration) directs us to give the ‘boo boo’ a kiss. So just in case you forgot to bring emotion to the situation.
Find me someone who hasn’t had a skinned knee in their life, rendering them hopeless because they are unable to draw on past experience.
‘How to Save Someone Who is Choking’. Good. Helpful.
‘How to Arrange a Bouquet of Flowers.” Is that a good deed for me?
‘How to visit someone in Hospital’. Really?
‘How to take a photo for strangers’. What?
It’s not all bad. There are some good ones too.
How to confront prejudice;
How to help someone overcome their fear of flying;
How to become an organ donor;
How to give blood.
We really are obsessed with finding information in a book?
Now this is an American book so it has a section in there about ‘How to Shovel Snow’
Well I don’t need that in Sydney but I am an expert as that old saying goes ‘pushing shit uphill with a stick’. There’s one you don’t find in a book. That’s life teaching you a lesson.
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Have we lost our ability to think?
Your local Borders is still open?! Man are you lucky. Mine are all shut.
No, they’re not anymore. That’s why the book was priced at $1.95 I think.
I had to rescue an injured kookaburra from my front yard earlier this year – we had no idea what to do but catch it & take it the vet. Wonder if reading the book I would’ve done things differently?
Doubt it. The book is full of logical stuff like, gently pick the bird up and put it in a box. Close the lid slowly to not freak the bird out etc.
Maybe your kookaburra laughed a little too hard and fell out of the tree.