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Asking
for Help
Before I start… let me ask you one question. (停，看觀眾) When was the last time you needed help… but you didn’t ask? (停) Tonight, I want to tell you a story. Last year, I started an amazing journey called the Camino de Santiago. Thirty-six days. Eight hundred kilometers. No bicycles No vehicles No horses Just my feet… And you know what? The date I started walking last year is April 26 . Exactly the same as today!
(指背包) I started walking from a small town in south France All cross the territory of Spain To reach to the other side of the world.
And of course , everything I needed was in my backpack.
On the first day, My bag pack weighed about fourteen kilos. “No problem,” I told myself. “I’m young. I’m strong. I’m well trained. For me 14 kilos is just a piece of cake ” （充滿自信神情）
But by day four… my feet were burning. My shoulders were screaming. And every step I took felt heavier than the last. That day, it took me more than eight hours to reach the hostel. When I finally arrived, I found a cozy spot in the lobby, I dropped my backpack, And I opened it, and asked myself: “What is pulling me back?” (慢慢拿出) And I took this out.
(Do you know what this is ?) A sleeping bag. This sleeping bag…keeps me alive every night. But at this moment, it makes me feel like I was carrying another person. It makes me feel like I’m carrying Derek (或是Cue當日主持人~) That night, alone in the hostel lobby, I heard two voices in my head. One said: “William, you need help. You can’t carry all these stuff walking 30 km a day ” The other said: “William, don’t be chicken! (做出公雞的叫聲）” “You should handle this yourself.” “Don’t bother other people.” “If you ask for help, you owe them.” And suddenly… this Camino didn’t feel that different from my real life. Because that voice… I’ve heard it before. At work. In relationships. Even with family. What should I do … (停) And that’s when I met Martess. A tiny Italian grandma. Silver hair. Square glasses. A warm smile. Like a gentle grandma from a fairy tale. She was carrying almost nothing. Not because she packed less… but because she was using a luggage service called “the donkey service” to send her bag ahead every day. I think using this donkey service is very smart on this Camino adventure, unlike me treating myself like a donkey… I looked at her. Then I looked at her bag. And I noticed something. She still had some space. (小聲) Just enough… for a sleeping bag. And I thought: “Should I ask her for help?” “Should I ask her if… my sleeping bag could go hitchhiking?” “But what if she laughs?” “What if I look weak?” (停) But then I realized something. If I don’t ask… I won’t make it. So I walked up to her and said: “Hey Martess… you’re using the luggage service tomorrow, right? And… you still have space, right?” “Yes. What’s wrong?” “Well… I don’t feel very well today. And my sleeping bag… it’s killing me. Do you think I could put my sleeping bag in your luggage? I know we’re going to the same place tomorrow. Please~” (長停) She looked at me. In silence. And in my head, I thought: “Here we go… How embarrassing.” “A young Taiwanese guy asking an Italian grandma to carry his sleeping bag.” “Willam, you just embarrassed the whole Taiwanese.. I mean… the whole Asian tribe.” (停) But she didn’t laugh. Not at all. She smiled. And she said: “Of course!” “I didn’t know you could do this.” “This is so smart!” “What else do you want to put in?” “Put them all in!” (輕笑) “Really?” So I took out my slippers. My dirty clothes. Even my books.
And just like that… she took it. She took them all! The next morning, I walked lighter. I walked faster. And you know what? Both of us under the same sky, finished our Camino in thirty-six days.
That day, when I gave her my sleeping bag… She didn’t see weakness. She saw wisdom. She didn’t see giving up. She saw reaching out.
This sleeping bag… is not just a sleeping bag.
For some people, it’s work pressure. For some, it’s a relationship that’s falling apart. And for some, it’s pretending everything is fine… when it’s not.
It’s the thing you tell yourself you should be able to carry alone. Even when you can’t.
So why am I sharing this story tonight? Because maybe today… someone here is carrying something heavy.
The Camino taught me this: Asking for help isn’t giving up. It’s reaching out. And maybe tonight… right here, in this room… The Martess you’re waiting for is already sitting next to you. So if something in your life feels too heavy to carry…and you really need a hand… All you need to do… is ask.
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