Porch Thoughts: Not My Monkey, Not My Circus… But What If It Is?

Sometimes the smallest things we encounter leave us with the biggest thoughts.

Yesterday, I went to a craft fair. Nothing unusual, just a simple day out enjoying the little things. As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed my phone battery was nearly dead. I quickly started typing a message to my husband to let him know I had made it safely and that my phone was about to die. But before I could hit send, the screen went black.

Dead as a doornail.

Oh well, I thought. No big deal. I didn't have a charger with me, but I wasn't too concerned.

As I made my way across the gravel parking lot, something caught my eye. There, lying on the ground, was a rather large screw. Not just any little screw, either. It was one of those big, nasty things that could ruin somebody's day if it found its way into a tire.

Without giving it much thought, I bent down, picked it up, and tossed it into the trash.

That was that.

Or so I thought.

Later, my mind wandered back to that screw. Funny how something so insignificant can turn into a whole conversation inside your head.

I started thinking about what might have happened if I hadn't noticed it. What if I had driven over it on my way out and ended up with a flat tire somewhere along the road?

My phone was dead. I had no charger. Nobody knew exactly where I was.

What would I have done?

Well, I suppose I would have gotten out, changed the tire, and gone on my merry way. It would have been inconvenient, maybe even aggravating, but I would have figured it out.

But then another thought crossed my mind.

What if it hadn't been me?

What if it had been an elderly person who physically couldn't change a tire? What if it had been a young driver who had never been taught how? What if it had been a mother with small children, stranded along the road? Or someone already having the worst day of their life, and that flat tire was just one more thing they didn't need?

Suddenly, that little screw didn't seem so insignificant anymore.

And then I wondered something else.

What if we are sometimes meant to notice things?

Maybe not everything that catches our attention is meant for us. Maybe sometimes we're placed in a situation where we have an opportunity to prevent a problem for somebody else.

I don't know if God put that screw in my path for a reason. I won't pretend to know. But I do believe He gives us opportunities every day to show kindness, compassion, and consideration for others. Most of the time, those opportunities don't come with flashing lights or some grand announcement.

Sometimes they look like a screw lying in a gravel parking lot.

Now, here's where my thoughts took a turn.

What if I had seen that screw, recognized the danger, and simply walked around it?

What if I had made a mental note of where it was so I wouldn't run over it myself, but left it lying there for the next person?

After all, it wasn't my screw. It wasn't my parking lot. It wasn't my responsibility.

There's a popular saying:

"Not my monkey, not my circus."

And I understand the meaning behind it. We can't take responsibility for every problem in this world. We all have enough of our own troubles to deal with.

But have we taken that saying a little too far?

Have we become a society where we only act when something directly affects us?

If it isn't our mess, we don't clean it up. If it isn't our problem, we don't get involved. If it isn't our family, our property, our business, or our inconvenience, we simply keep walking.

When did we become so comfortable looking the other way?

Was it always like this? Or have we slowly become so consumed with our own lives that we've forgotten how to look beyond them?

I know there are still plenty of good people in this world. People who quietly help their neighbors, lend a hand to strangers, and do the right thing without expecting recognition. I see that goodness, and I'm thankful for it.

But I also wonder if we've become a little too good at minding our own business.

We've mistaken indifference for staying out of things. We've confused kindness with weakness. We've become so concerned about protecting our own peace that sometimes we forget our actions, or lack of them, can affect someone else's.

When did doing the right thing become something we had to think twice about?

And when did we become so weak that even the smallest inconvenience to ourselves seems like too much to offer another person?

Maybe the world doesn't need more people pointing out what's wrong with it.

Maybe it needs more people willing to bend down and pick up the screw.

Pick up the trash that isn't yours.

Hold the door for someone whose hands are full.

Check on the neighbor you haven't seen in a while.

Speak up when someone is being treated unfairly.

Help the person struggling, even when nobody else notices.

Teach the young person something useful instead of criticizing them for not knowing.

And for goodness' sake, show a little grace to people whose circumstances you know nothing about.

None of these things require money, recognition, or some extraordinary act of courage. They simply require us to look beyond ourselves.

I often think about the kind of world we're leaving for the next generation. We spend so much time teaching children to be successful, independent, and strong. But are we teaching them to be considerate? To notice when someone needs help? To do what's right even when there is absolutely nothing in it for them?

Because character isn't always revealed in the big decisions we make.

Sometimes it's revealed in the little things we could have easily walked past.

As I sit here this morning with my coffee, thinking about that ordinary trip to a craft fair, I realize that screw probably taught me more than anything I saw at the event.

It reminded me that my actions don't have to benefit me to matter.

It reminded me that someone else's problem is still a problem, even if it never becomes mine.

And it reminded me that being a decent human being sometimes means taking responsibility for something that was never our responsibility to begin with.

So maybe today we should challenge ourselves to pay a little more attention.

Look around. Notice things. Think about the person coming behind you.

And when you have an opportunity to make someone else's journey a little easier, take it.

You may never know whose flat tire you prevented, whose burden you lightened, or whose faith in humanity you restored.

And that's perfectly fine.

Because doing the right thing shouldn't require an audience, a reward, or a personal benefit.

Maybe it isn't your monkey.

Maybe it isn't your circus.

But kindness is everybody's business.

And sometimes, all it takes to make a difference is picking up a screw.

A Little Scripture from the Porch

"Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others."

— Philippians 2:4 (KJV)

Until next time, take a moment to enjoy the simple things, thank the Lord for your blessings, and remember that even the smallest act of kindness can make a difference in somebody's day.