I recently encountered a social experiment. A young girl was beautifully dressed and alone on the sidewalk. When most passersby saw her, they stopped and asked where her parents were and if she needed help. The same girl was left in the same place, but in worn and dirty clothes.
Many people passed by, but no one seemed to notice her. And those who did notice only looked at her resentfully. Such is the sad reality of today.
Since when did this world become populated by egoists who judge others only by their appearance? Or why is the life of a rich person more worthy than that of a poor person?
Thankfully, someone comes along who shows us that not everyone has lost the ability to empathize with the less fortunate, and gives us hope that all is not yet lost.
When Casey Fisher decided to grab a coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts on her break, she saw a homeless man collecting coins on the side of the road. He then went into the store to buy some food. As she approached him, Fisher discovered the change in his hand was barely one dollar.
The man introduced himself as Chris and told Fisher that he is often abused simply because he is homeless. He admitted that he abuses drugs, which makes him hateful.
All he wanted in life was to become a man his late mother would have been proud of. But for whatever reason, he couldn’t do that. When it was time for Fisher to go back to class, she told Chris that it was good to see him and that she had to go.
But the man said “wait a minute,” took a crumpled piece of paper, wrote something on it, and held it out to his new acquaintance. Fisher opened the message and was stunned.
He couldn’t imagine that his act could mean so much to a homeless man. To him, this meeting was more than just a conversation over coffee and bagels. Something had changed in him.
Today I was thinking about suicide. Thanks to you, I won’t kill myself again. Thank you, beautiful man.
