On Monday, I had a conversation with my college freshmen about community and responsibility. This conversation came after we had viewed a documentary on extreme poverty—living on a dollar a day—and attended a presentation by one of the young men who was involved with the project. Despite the poverty in the community, the families were very close as they worked together to help each other and make a better life for themselves. Our class discussion revolved around the responsibility each person has and how our responsibility extends from family to neighbors to the larger global community.

On Tuesday morning, I was driving to work. I had just pulled onto the entrance ramp for the highway when everyone around me suddenly began to slow and then they stopped. I looked to the highway on my left just in time to see a car flip over and land on its roof in the median. I pulled over and put my car in park. I sat for a minute catching my breath and working to calm my nerves as I watched several people get out of their cars and run to the flipped car to check on the driver. Before long, all traffic had stopped in both directions.

[I will say, I stayed in my car. Unfortunately, while I remain calm under pressure and can deal with emergencies, I do not deal well with injury/blood/death/etc. These things cause me to grow faint and shaky, pass out and become completely useless to anyone who might need help. Knowing our limits—it’s an important part of self-awareness.]

Four or five people gathered around the car and helped the driver out and to her feet. They walked her gingerly away from the car, and went back to check that the car was empty of other passengers. At this point, I decided the situation was under control, and I slowly made my way around several stopped cars and drove to work.

There are times when I think we are on our own in this country. The sense of community and our responsibility to others gets lost in the craziness of everyday life. And yet, this incident was an example of the many ways we come together to help others in need. We are all here together, and when we most need help, others generally show up, We have a responsibility to our community—both locally and globally—and if we take the time to look around, we will see ways in which we might just make a difference.