Cecile Tebo
One of my favorite books is “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” by Mitch Albom. The main character, Eddie, shares his post-death experience with the first five people he meets in Heaven. Several of those people Eddie had passed in life, unaware how his presence affected their lives on Earth.
I think about this often in my daily trek through life. We often equate ourselves to our friends and acquaintances, not really paying much attention to the strangers who also pass our way and how our presence affects their lives. It may be a conversation with the person next to us in an airplane, a checkout person in a grocery line, a cab driver, a toll taker, a person passing on a street corner. It could be anyone, anywhere. A simple smile, a handshake, a “Hey, how are ya?” or a cut in line for a harried driver could all impact another life in a way we ourselves do not notice.
In my 10 years of working the streets of New Orleans with the NOPD crisis unit, I entered into the lives of many people I may not have encountered in another career. The calls for service I received often involved folks huddled in dark corners, wracked in severe mental illness, covered in urine and feces. These calls I felt most honored to answer, as I knew that it had been a long time since they had received any gesture of hope — something I could easily give. Being witness to the power of these encounters, I understood the message in the book in greater detail.
On the flip side, those I encountered often gave to me food for thought and affected me personally in ways they may never know. I was called one day to help an elderly woman lost in the Gentilly area. Upon arrival I found an 82-year-old woman, shoeless, covered in wounds and very angry and irate. Apparently she had Alzheimer’s and had wandered away from home which was miles away across the bridge. For the two hours that I was with her, she cursed and kicked at me the entire time. Finally getting her to the hospital and secured in a bed, I left. Several hours later I returned with another patient who was put near her bedside. The woman called me over and with great hesitation I went to her side. She asked if I could clean her glasses off so she could see me more clearly as she had something very important to say. I quivered in my boots expecting more ranting as she looked very intently at me. With great clarity she said, “Lady, I have watched you these past couple of hours and see that you work with great speed. You seem overly busy and preoccupied in your work. I once was like you and now at 82 I lay sick in this bed with a feeble mind. I want to say to you, slow down and don’t work so hard. Life moves so fast and now is the time for you to enjoy your youth and your family before you become like me.” With tears rolling down, I hugged her with all my might and thanked her for her words, words and wisdom that I have tried to follow ever since that encounter.
So as you travel your world today, you may want to take greater note of the people you pass, stand next to in line, see at a bus stop, walk across the street with, gas your car up with or sit next to at a ball game. Every day a new encounter awaits you, a chance meeting that could change someone’s life or even yours. They could perhaps be one of the first five people you meet in Heaven.
Cecile Tebo, a licensed clinical social worker, spent the last 10 years with the New Orleans Police Department crisis unit, and resigned in October to pursue a dream of finding new ways to improve services for the chronically mentally ill in New Orleans. Her thoughts on mental-health issues and resources in New Orleans appear Tuesdays in UptownMessenger.com.
Thank you so much for this. Just recently I was reading coach Dale Brown’s book “Getting Over The Four Hurdles of Life” and he
quotes St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the gospel every day, and if necessary use words.” Your column reminded me of this. Also, if we lived in a more merciful and compassionate society, I myself would be so much less afraid of becoming an old woman alone.
Thanks for posting this. I have known Cecile since the first couple of months after Katrina, and know that many have found inspiration in the unselfish energy that is the beating of her heart. She is absolutely golden, a treasure in our community, as this piece illustrates.