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በሁለት ልቦች መካከል

ከአንድ ወር በፊት፣ በማውተርንዶርፍ፣ ኦስትሪያ በተደረገ ማፈግፈግ ቤት ከሌላቸው ሰዎች ጋር ስለነበረኝ ስራ ትንሽ አካፍዬ ነበር። ህመማቸውን እንዴት እንደሚያካፍሉኝ፣ ምሬታቸውን ወደ ቢሮዬ እንዴት እንደሚያመጡት... ከምንም በላይ ግን እኔ እና ባልደረቦቼ ፊታቸው ላይ ፈገግታን ለመመለስ፣ እንባዎቻቸውን ትንሽ እረፍት ለመስጠት፣ ለወደፊቱ ጥንካሬ እና በራስ መተማመንን ለመስጠት እንዴት እንደምንሞክር አሰላስልኩ።

ሀሳቤን ካቀረብኩ በኋላ ከተሳታፊዎቹ አንዱ ወደ እኔ መጣ። ስሙን ልጥቀስ ይፈልግ እንደሆነ ስለማላውቅ እሱን ብተወው እመርጣለሁ።

"የመኝታ ቦርሳ አለኝ" ሲል አቀረበ። "እኔ ለአንተ ብሰጥህ ይጠቅመኛል? እዚህ ላሉት ቀናት ያለሱ ባደርግ ጥሩ ነው።" የመኝታ ቦርሳውን በአመስጋኝነት ተቀብዬ ቪየና ወደሚገኘው የድንገተኛ አደጋ መጠለያችን ወሰድኩት።

በጎዳና ላይ የሚኖሩ እና ሌላ መሄጃ የሌላቸው ሰዎች ወደዚያ ሊመጡ ይችላሉ.

ለመሞቅ፣ ለመብላት፣ ለመታጠብ፣ ከመንገድ ላይ ከሚደርሰው ጥቃት ለመጠለል ወይም ከእኔ ጋር አብረው ህይወታቸውን ለማሻሻል ይመጣሉ።

እንደ አለመታደል ሆኖ አልጋችን ብዙ ጊዜ ይሞላል። አንድ ሰው ማታ በሩን ሲያንኳኳ እና ነፃ አልጋ ከሌለን, ሌላ ቦታ አልጋ ለማደራጀት እንሞክራለን. ያ የማይጠቅም ከሆነ ውጭ ያን ያህል እንዳይቀዘቅዙ ቢያንስ የመኝታ ቦርሳ እንሰጣቸዋለን።

በተጨማሪም፣ በጣም የታመሙ ሰዎችም አሉ፣ ለምሳሌ፣ የአደጋ ጊዜ መጠለያ መቀበል የማይችሉ - ስደት ይሰማቸዋል፣ የማናያቸው ምስሎችን አይተዋል፣ ወይም “ሰዎች ብዙ ጊዜ ጎድተውኛል፣ ከሰዎች ጋር በአንድ ክፍል ውስጥ ከምቀመጥ በጨለማ ጫካ ውስጥ ብተኛ እመርጣለሁ” የሚሉ አሉ። እና ከዚያ በትክክል ያደርጉታል. እንደ ማህበራዊ ሰራተኞች በጫካ ውስጥ እንጠይቃቸዋለን እና የሆነ ነገር እንደሚያስፈልጋቸው እንጠይቃቸዋለን.

ለነዚህ ሁሉ ነፍሳት የመኝታ ከረጢቱን አደረስኩ።

ከጥቂት ምሽቶች በኋላ, ጊዜው ደርሷል. የድንገተኛ አደጋ መጠለያችን እንደገና ሞልቷል፣ እና ከእኩለ ሌሊት በኋላ የበሩ ደወል ተደወለ። አንዲት ሴት አሁንም ነፃ አልጋ እንዳለ ጠየቀች. እሷ ትንሽ ለብሳ ነበር፣ እና ቀድሞውንም ሌሊት በጣም ቀዝቃዛ ነበር። ይህችን ሴት እናውቃለን; ለብዙ እና ለብዙ ዓመታት በጎዳና ላይ ነች። ለእሷ የሚሆን ቦታ ለማግኘት አንዳንድ ስልክ እንድንደውልላት እንድትጠብቅ ጠየቅናት።

እንደ አለመታደል ሆኖ ይህች ሴት የአእምሮ ሕመምተኛ ነች። አንዳንድ ጊዜ ከእሷ ጋር ረጅም ውይይት ማድረግ አይቻልም, አንዳንድ ጊዜ ይሠራል. በዚያ ልዩ ምሽት ከእርሷ ጋር በተረጋጋ ሁኔታ ማውራት ፈጽሞ የማይቻል ነበር. እሷ ዞር ብላ ወደ ሌሊቱ ልትሄድ ነበር፣ ነገር ግን አንድ ተጨማሪ ምትሃታዊ ቃል ነበረን፡- “አንድ ደቂቃ ቆይ፣ የመኝታ ቦርሳ ትፈልጋለህ?” እሷም አቆመች፡ “ኧረ እባክህ እባክህ!”

ከቀናት በኋላ እንደገና አገኘኋት። በጣም ጥሩ ቀን እያሳለፈች ነበር፣በዚህም ማለቴ ጥሩ ውይይት ማድረግ ቻልን። ስለዚያ ምሽት ጠየኳት እና የመኝታ ከረጢቱ ምን ያህል እንደረዳት ተናገረች። የመኝታ ቦርሳውን ታሪክ፣ በማውተርንዶርፍ ትንሽ መንደር ውስጥ በቪየና ለሚገኘው ማህበረሰባችን እንዴት እንደመጣ ነገርኳት።

አልኳት: "ይህ ሰው ወደ እኔ መጣ. እኔ እንደማስበው, እርስዎ እንዳይቀዘቅዝዎት ለእሱ አስፈላጊ ነው! እኔ እንደማስበው, እርስዎ እንዲሞቁዎት ለእሱ አስፈላጊ ነው! . . . አዎ, ትክክል ነዎት. እሱ አያውቀውም! . . . እሱ ያውቃችሁ ይሆን?

እሷም፣ “አዎ፣ አዎ፣ አዎ፡ ስፓጌቲ!” አለችው።

እኔም መልሼ፣ “እነሆ፣ የቸኮሌት ዱባዎችን መብላት እወዳለሁ። ኦኦኦ!”

ሁለታችንም እጆቻችንን ሆዳችን ላይ አደረግን እና “ኡኡኡኡ! Mmmm, that is goooood” የሚል ድምጽ አሰማን። ከዚያም ሳቅን እና "አየህ ይሄ ታሪክ በሰሀኑ ላይ ስላለው ሳይሆን ስለ ሁለቱ ፊታችን ነው! እነሆ ፊት ለፊት አንድ አይነት ነው ያለን ። ይህ ሰው በጣም የሚወደው ምግብም ያለው ይመስለኛል። እና ምናልባት የመኝታ ከረጢቱን ስለሰጠህ በጣም ደስተኛ ሊሆን ይችላል" አልኩት።

እሷም “አዎ እሱን በምትገልፅበት መንገድ እሱ ደስተኛ ይሆናል ብዬ አስባለሁ።

እኔም “እሺ፣ እነሆ፣ ከዚያ በኋላ ሶስታችንም እንተዋወቃለን!” ብዬ መለስኩለት።

ጮክ ብለን ሳቅን።

በአንዲት ትንሽ ልጅ በሚያንጸባርቁ አይኖች ፈገግ ብላለች። ስለ ጉዳዩ እንድነግርህ እና አመሰግናለሁ እንድል ጠየቀችኝ።

ይህ የዛ ማፈግፈግ ሰው ይህ የመኝታ ከረጢት መቼ እንደሚወጣ አያውቅም ነበር። ይህ የመኝታ ከረጢት ለማን እንደሚሰጥ አላወቀም። ይህችን ሴት አያውቃትም፣ ታሪኳንም አያውቅም - እና አሁንም ልቡ “አስፈላጊ ነሽ!” አለ።

በነዚህ በሁለቱ ሰዎች መካከል የተፈጠረውን ነገር ለመመስከር የተፈቀደልኝ ለዚህ ቅጽበት በአክብሮት አንገቴን አጎነበስኩ።

በእነዚህ ሁለት ሰዎች መካከል በመቶዎች የሚቆጠሩ ኪሎ ሜትሮች, ግን በተመሳሳይ ጊዜ, እንደተማርነው: በጣም አጭር ርቀት በሁለት ልቦች መካከል ነው!

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COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

25 PAST RESPONSES

User avatar
Francyl Gawryn Nov 1, 2026
Working with homeless women in Seattle, I often encountered moments when there was nothing I could offer but a smile, a listening ear or a hug.. I couldn’t fix someone else’s life, but we could share a meal together, sing a song together, pray together. In those moments it was enough.
Reply 1 reply: Bernhard
User avatar
Bernhard Lentsch Nov 5, 2026
Dear Francyl Gawryn!

Thank you for your words - I feel that I understand every single one of them well.

I often feel the same way you described: someone is sitting across from me, describing profound experiences. I can’t just make those go away with a snap of my fingers.Sometimes it feels like I can't even make the slightest change. And it’s precisely THEN - when I stay there anyway, keep listening, perhaps listening to the silence together and enduring the pain together - that very act - even though I’d just felt like I couldn’t make a difference - sometimes means the world!

Thank you for your work!
User avatar
Richard Charles Apr 12, 2026
To me the most important part of the story is where Bernhard says he helps his people to improve their lives . Helping others to become strong and self-reliant is the most powerful gift.
Handouts (although sometimes necessary) can weaken someone . Handups can strengthen someone. And that strength can be a lifelong asset.
Reply 1 reply: Bernhard
User avatar
Bernhard Lentsch Nov 5, 2026
Dear Richard Charles!

Oh yes, I completely agree with you.
A helping hand—offering support while treating each other as equals.

Not charity handed down to “those down there,” but simply a helping hand between two people.
User avatar
Jan Dec 9, 2025
So much in this story! I work where we serve members that are much like the woman in the story. I will remember this and try to find commonality whenever I can.
Reply 1 reply: Bernhard
User avatar
Bernhard Lentsch Nov 5, 2026
Dear Jan!

Oh, thank you so much. Your words are a gift!
Perhaps reading this brought a smile to your face, and while you were thinking about the story, you might have passed on that smile to one of the women you care for.

All the best in your work!
User avatar
Mariana Dec 2, 2025
Beautiful story. We are interconnected! Our interdependence nourishes and heals us 🩵
Reply 1 reply: Bernhard
User avatar
Bernhard Lentsch Nov 5, 2026
"Beautiful story. We are interconnected! Our interdependence nourishes and heals us" - I smile gently and nod softly.

Yes.
That’s right.
User avatar
Deanna Nov 26, 2025
Beautiful❣️
Reply 1 reply: Bernhard
User avatar
Bernhard Lentsch Nov 5, 2026
I always find it lovely, too!
User avatar
Khokha Nov 18, 2025
Aaaah, yes! I very much agree with this wonderful story.
Reply 1 reply: Bernhard
User avatar
Bernhard Lentsch Nov 5, 2026
I'm really glad to hear that - thank you so much for your comment!
User avatar
Jane Nov 17, 2025
This is a story of reciprocity. Giving, receiving, giving. Beautiful.
Reply 1 reply: Bernhard
User avatar
Bernhard Lentsch Nov 5, 2026
Exactly - and everything always balances out.

I find that every hand I reach out to is, in a way, a hand I’m reaching out to myself. Every hand that’s extended to me is one I, too, have extended to someone who was going through a difficult time...
User avatar
Pauline Nov 12, 2025
Such a deeply touching story. Yes, at essence we are connected and the same. We share the same need to feel safe, supported, valued and accepted and we are connected by cycles of giving and receiving. The man gave. The woman received. The woman, in turn, gave (her appreciation and her story) and now we, the readers, have received the story and benefited by its message of kindness and connectedness. And others will give because of this story … and so the cycle of generosity - of giving and receiving - will continue. Giving and receiving are two equal blessings. The gift is only of value when it is received. The man and the woman are equally important in this cycle of generosity. Thank you for sharing this beautiful story and may we all continue to find our shared bonds of connection and kindness.
Reply 1 reply: Bernhard
User avatar
Bernhard Lentsch Nov 6, 2026
Dear Pauline!

"The gift is only of value when it is received." and "The man and the woman are equally important in this cycle of generosity."

What two beautiful, wise sentences! I'm going to write them down and think about them more often from now on. Thank you so much - your words were a great inspiration!
User avatar
Hannah Nov 12, 2025
Oh my. So so touching .
This is what we need to see on front of newspapers. Such kindness. Love bless you all out there
Reply 1 reply: Bernhard
User avatar
Bernhard Lentsch Nov 6, 2026
Dear Hannah!

Oh yes, I totally agree with you...
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ruth Nov 12, 2025
Seeing such caring among those who have little to give is heart warming and does remind me that we are all connected. Each day, when I recognize and feel gratitude for the many blessings in my own life, I pray that those blessings will be shared with those who most need them.
Reply 1 reply: Bernhard
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Bernhard Lentsch Nov 6, 2026
Dear Ruth!
Hearing your words, I can only nod silently... how beautiful what you say!
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E Rogers Nov 12, 2025
Joy and sorrow touching my heart. Blessed be the ones that care. E
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Patrick Nov 12, 2025
Here's to everyone who enjoys good food and those who cannot - we are all interconnected like a plateful of spaghetti covered with the same sauce!
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Annie Nov 12, 2025
I love this story! I realize I have a sleeping bag in storage that I don’t use. You’ve inspired me to offer it to someone who really needs it. That makes my heart happy!
Reply 2 replies: Hannah, Bernhard
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Hannah Nov 12, 2025
Well done. You are wonderful...
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Bernhard Lentsch Nov 6, 2026
Wow, Annie! That's so sweet of you! Thank you for taking such good care!