Have you ever felt stuck? Do you understand the meaning of being truly stuck? 13-year-old Omayra Shanchez was stuck up to her shoulders in water for 55 hours before she died. She was only 13! People all around the world watched as she stood in her grave for over 24 hours. If you can read this right now, then I doubt you are physically stuck. Still, you and those around you may be stuck in other ways.

This girl couldn’t help herself, and in the last hours of her life she watched as people just watched her. Those people who watched her may have tried to help, but they didn’t try hard enough. Her eyes turned black with despair, don’t let that happen to the people around you. Try not to let anyone else’s light go out of their eyes.

You may be stuck, you may be in a situation that you don’t think you can get out of, but life will continue. There are so many people around you that don’t feel like they will make it. You may not see that, but they are there. The sad, downtrodden, depressed, and alone. They feel stuck. So get out of your comfort zone and let them know someone cares. They may not be stuck in the mud and the floods, but they still need your help! Omayra could have been saved, there was equipment that could have been used but wasn’t.

Save a life, show the people around you that you have what it takes to pull them out of their graves. Because truly, some of your neighbors, friends, schoolmates, co-workers, and family feel like they are in their graves. You may be the person who removes the last obstacle, the one to free them from the chains of death.

So be kind, ask what’s wrong, smile at strangers, and talk to your acquaintances. That may be all it takes. Maybe you will be required to put in more time, but so what? If you have to get out of bed to sit with them, isn’t that worth it?

Our minds can be beautiful places, but they can be dark and tangled. So unravel the knots that restrain people in their minds. Make a difference to someone. It really isn’t that hard. I kind word, picking up something they dropped, even just a smile can let a person know that someone cares about them. Some people just need to know that there is still hope in the world.

You can make a difference.

So do it.