I have had friends tell me over the years that I often see things that they do not. Perhaps, my filters are adjusted a certain way. Sometimes, I wonder am I the only one who is watching this? We all live in a busy world and so often, we are too busy to see the beauty right in front of us.
Last week, I was in a huge hurry trying to make a grant deadline and rushing to Kinkos to pick up my order. Traffic prevented me from turning into the Kinkos driveway, so I was parked just waiting and watching and what I saw brought me to tears.
Standing almost in front of me was an elderly homeless women, with no shoes, white hair and her face was literally black with grime and dirt. She was not begging but simply standing there. Her physical condition took my breath away. As I waited in traffic wondering what to do, I saw an elderly gentleman in his mid-seventies hop out of his car, leaving it running in the parking lot and ever so kindly, sweetly and thoughtfully approach the woman. He bowed his head, in respect of greeting her, and handed her what appeared to be everything he had in his wallet.
Tears began pouring from my eyes, at the most beautiful sight of her surprise and her smile. I looked at the elderly man as the tears streamed down my face and he gave a small nod and quickly got into his running car and drove off. The honking horns jarred me into reality of what I had just witnessed. The respect, compassion, grace, dignity and the sheer beauty of the moment, was one I will never forget.
The stress of the day gone, replaced with hope, compassion and belief that the world is full of goodness. We just simply have to look for it.
Charity Matters.
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