A loving mother, wishing to encourage her eager young son's development as a pianist, bought them both a ticket each to go and listen to a sold-out performance by the great Polish pianist Ignace Paderewski. Happy to find, upon arrival, that they had been seated quite near the front of the huge concert hall, they sat down to wait for the recital to begin. The young boy was in quiet awe of the majestic Steinway - standing alone on stage waiting to be played, whilst his mother chatted happily to one or two of the other audience members lucky enough to have bought a ticket for the show, oblivious to the fact that her young son had sneakily slipped away for a closer look at the Steinway before she realized he had gone.
As the clock struck 8, the lights in the auditorium slowly began to dim before the spotlight deftly fell upon centre stage and the majestic Steinway that had been strategically placed there for all to see. Imagine the horror in the mother's eyes at that precise moment when she realized that her son was sitting at the Steinway rather than in his seat, as he purposely started to play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." Shocked and deeply embarrassed she quickly made her way to the stage to help usher her son off it and back into his allocated seat. Before she got there though, the great pianist himself walked onto the stage and swiftly made his own way over to the piano. As he did so, he looked at the boy smilingly and then whispered to him not to stop playing.
As quick as a flash he then sat himself down alongside the young imp and improvised a delightful obbligato to compliment the tune already being played, blending them both together beautifully as he did so. Much to the delight and amazement of the mesmerized audience - who rewarded them both with loud and wild applause when the music had ended and the young boy got up, smiled and walked happily off the stage.
All of us receive helping hands throughout our life from people we love and care about - and from people we don't even know. More often than you might imagine as well I might add; without even realizing it at the time! For you truly would be amazed at the support some people offer us without ever being asked. What is equally important, is the innumerable opportunities each of us are given on a daily basis to reach out and offer helping hands to others in need. What are you waiting for?
