Going Up or Down

"He stands erect by bending over the fallen. He rises by lifting others." -Douglas Horton

During this current business trip that I am on, every morning and every evening I use the elevator. It either lowers me to the ground floor so that I may have my breakfast. At night it lifts me to my floor so I may sleep away the day's tiredness.

Most every one of these days I cross a threshold where the sliding doors open and close. A recorded voice warns me of both their opening and impending closing. The voice asks me to select my floor number and announces it when we arrive. It is an elevator that seems to take care in taking care of others.

Recently one morning, I happened to notice the name on the threshold. The name was Otis and for some reason I connected the name to the recorded voice. It was amusing to me as the voice of the elevator is a female voice. I thought to myself, her name is Otis; amusing only to me I would guess.

Every day, hour upon hour and minutes upon minutes, people walk over Otis. But never a complaint, never a worry or concern. Otis continues to serve the needs of others without a loss of voice or strength. Otis will lower you safely from the highest floors, placing your feet on solid ground. This fine elevator will also lift you up when you have had a hard day and need rest.

Each of us can be like Otis in our daily lives. We can help lower others to the solid safety of the ground. When others have gotten to the edge of destruction in their lives, we can offer a safe elevator to come back down and regather themselves.

We can also provide the extra lift in their lives when the day has gotten them down. They can rise in spirit and comfort as we ask them which floor they wish to get to. We then safely lift them and open the doors to a new and greater place.

Otis is simply an elevator, mechanical and pre-programmed. You are not. But you can help people down from the scariest of heights and lift them as well to wondrous new levels.

You have the ability to bring a human connection into the picture. You have the ability to be an elevator to others. So which floor would you like please?