Helping Hands

Looking up from my bus duty line, an unexpected sight caught my eye.  A little boy, toddling along, suddenly fell. There, on all fours like a little puppy, he froze.  No tears trickled down his face; not yells of pain; no shouts for help. Frozen like a sculpture he remained until the two hands of Mom, following closely behind, reached down and grasped both sides of his coat-covered waist.  Gently, those hand lifted him back on his two feet. Secure again and without a look behind, or even a casual, “Thank you, Mommy,” he started on his merry way again.  On he toddled, seeming to forget those helping hands.

This scene has stayed in my thoughts as I puzzle over it.  What a beautiful scene it was! So much love and tenderness from Mom.  So much caring and protecting. So much helping and guiding. We all need helping hands, I thought.     

Life is like that, I continued my musings.  Sometimes we fall, and for some inexplicable reason, we seem frozen, unable to ask for help and, yet, unable to move forward.  That is when we need helping hands. Sometimes those hands lift; sometimes those hands guide; sometimes those hands steady us; sometimes those hands comfort.  Whatever the case, those helping hands give us what we need to move on again.   

                                                  
Coaching is like that.  Sometimes we come alongside a colleague when they seem frozen–discouraged, uninformed, questioning–in their journey.  Then, Coach, following closely beside, gives a helping hand–a lift, a listening ear, a suggestion, an idea–just a bit.  Then, that colleague is able to move happly forward again, confident and secure, scarcely remembering the helper. So is life, so is the role of Coach.