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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

An Attitude of Gratitude

This post is so way overdue.........I have been having  "Blogger Anxiety"!!.....
But now I am jumping in with both feet.......so here I go.

Whilst riding the train back from Perugia to Vicenza I met a homeless man who was also on a journey.
It seemed like such a stark contrast to my fun and festive weekend in Umbria at the jazz festival.  My weekend consisted of eating, drinking, and dancing- no worries about where I was going to lay my head those nights or if I would have food the next day.  While I am constantly thankful for all that I have, it's natural to take what we may consider "the little things" for granted.  After a weekend of indulgin, here I was sitting next to someone wh o was hungry and without a home.

This man in no way looks homeless. He was clean, well kempt, and very  intelligent.  He told me to look him up on FB!!! I thought 'HUH'??? FB!!!?? Then again we are living in the 21st century!

Carlo, as I would call him is very interested in world politics, the state of the world, poverty, un-employment, homelessness, hungry children etc.  He has no children nor been married.  He asked me about many books and named the authors, some of which I had never heard off.  Throughout our conversation he realizied I did not really believe he was homeless, but reality set in when we boarded the train and he went to another carriage to avoid being seen by the conductior as had no ticket.
My heart ached, because I wanted to help him.  How unfair this intelligent man was dealing with such imbalanced circumstances! later when he returned to his seat (we sat together) he asked me if I had any food in my bag, again I was struck with a strong pang of sadness as I wasn't able to help.  I knew I shouldn't feel guilty because i didn't have food in my purse but I just wanted to help him so badly! I chastised myself inwardly for not having even a granola bar to offer.  After I spent a weekend eating fine foods and drinking delicious wine, this man was just hoping for a stray morsel.  I admired his dignity and how he held himself, there was a pride and regality about him, and evn though he was homeless he still carried himself proudly.

A few stops before our destination another conductor came around, my heart pace quickened.  What would Carlo say?? Would the conductor be angry or sympathetic? This time Carlo told the truth, that he had neither tickets nor documents.  He was taken off the train at the next stop; my heart sank immediately at the injustice of it all.  He shook my hand before he left, I felt so sad, so helpless...

Lesson: Do not be judgemental of another person; do not be envious of their possessions and always be grateful for what you have instead of complaining about what you have not. There are many people less fortunate yet they go about their day with a smile on their face and gentle/humble personality.

 





2 comments:

  1. A lesson we can all take to heart. Thank you for sharing and welcome to blogger-land!! :)

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