Night Beat: Am I My Brother's Keeper

Hiya, this is Monkey Mix. I cover the Night Beat here on SpaceHey.

We’ve all heard the question asked before, am I my brother’s keeper? Well, in a way, yes, you are your brother's keeper, but the kept dictates how much energy one must put into the keeping. What I mean by that is, if you worry about someone, try to help, but only as much as your own sanity can maintain.

Ya know, people are always telling me how lucky I am to have retired early. Yes, I’m newly 26 and living off of the VA, where all I really have to do is not lift a finger too hard, in fear I might hurt my back a little bit more. It’s a dandy little life, sure. All you need is a big hit of Neuro-divergency, all the noir movies in human history, and the mental fortitude to not go crazy at home when no job hires you, and you’re all set. It’s a lovely life if you can get it, and brother, do I ever have it. Maybe that’s why I push myself so hard to help my fellow person, sometimes to my own detriment.

Yes, until the other day, I went out of my way for others that you’d think I’d wrap around with souvenirs from all 7 wonders. You’d ask me to jump, and instead of asking how high, I’d jump higher than ever before and break my legs on re-entry. Luckily for me, that all changed the other day. What started as a simple errand turned into a learning moment I won’t soon forget.

Without talking your ears off, I was out breaking my back, about to take every bus active, when all I needed to do was go get a new pipe. But, like a nagging mother, the world had other plans. Every route out of the way of what I wanted to do was closed. Sister, if you could imagine it, it was probably happening to me that day. Traffic, crashes, the works. It made me slow down and remember that if this was so important, they would have been here with me suffering at least. But before someone says it, I didn't just say "Hey, you're on your own. I still wanted to help, so I got home and said today wasn't good, and I'd go with them whenever they wanted. 

Naturally, this was almost two weeks ago, and still nothing. But this was a lesson for me. If I am truly my brother's keeper, then I had better make sure they can help me be their keeper. I won't do something for someone who won't do it themselves; I may end up being their keeper forever. At that point, who becomes my keeper when I stop doing it myself?