About 20 minutes ago, my kids came over and said “Our neighbor’s house is on fire. Come over and run!!!!” Nevertheless, I dropped everything…..ran down the street to see what happened. An elderly man had left his grill on, leaves nearby caught the heat of the fire and before you knew it, the bushes and all along the fence caught on fire! I witnessed neighbor after neighbor bringing their hoses, fire extinguishers, buckets, etc to put the fire out. About 2 minutes later, there were about 50 people working together to make sure people were safe. Another 3 minutes later, the fire department came to put out the fire, which was by that time approaching this man’s home. The fire department hosed the roof first, then the house, took the fence down and contained the fire. By the way, did I mention, It is 100+ degrees outside today.
What makes this story absolutely extraordinary is how I witnessed the power of a community coming together without question to help one another – SELFLESSLY. I wonder what would happen, if we took this example to help each other with business, with improving our educational system, with building stronger communities with strong individuals. Each one of these individuals today were leaders – they exhibited the three C’s – Character, Competence and Connections. I am absolutely moved by the power that a caring community can have to help one another. Not to mention, my kids and all the neighborhood kids knew it was time to help. Just a reminder every now and then, as chaotic as life gets, stop and listen, even to the smallest voices. Maybe we are doing something right 🙂