A Lesson Learned from a Homeless Person

A memory I live by

There is an experience I had when I was 18 years old which created such an impression on me not only about the lesson learned but also it influenced my perception of homeless persons.

I was 18 and it was rather late in the evening when I found myself riding the subway in NYC.  There were perhaps about 10 people riding in my car when a new person entered the car.  The description I am about to give is not meant to be judgmental but rather to lend meaning to the situation.  The person who entered had dirty hair, I wasn’t certain if they were dreadlocks or not.  He was wearing 3 pairs of pants at varying levels along his legs one at waist level the second at hip level and the third about mid-thigh.  He was also wearing several shirts.  In his hair he had straws sticking up as if they were antennas and in his hand he had a small bouquet of dead flowers.  He was obviously a person who was living on the streets or was there a camera behind all this?  Never thought of that!  When he entered the car he made no statement about being derelict and begging for money, what he did do was begin to dance around the car.  Most of the people in the car did the typical NY subway rider thing and ignored him hoping he would go away.  Across from me sat a pretty young lady who also averted her eyes but much to her chagrins the homeless person made a bead for her.  She tried as best she could to give evidence to the homeless person that she was not interested in communicating with him and kept her eyes directed to her lap with her head down.  The homeless person danced in front of her for a minute or so and then extended his hand holding the dead flowers to her.  The girl could not resist looking up at him and a smile crossed her face.  At this point the homeless person danced away, stopped in the middle of the car and stated for all to hear “It’s worth it to make a fool of yourself if it makes even just one person smile”.  All I could say to myself was “WOW”, these pearls of wisdom coming forth from the mouth of a homeless person, a person who most of society ostracizes and ignores. 

I have taken this lesson with me throughout my life and enjoy having fun, making people laugh and being a clown when the moment calls for some levity. 

I have also in recent years spent more time with homeless persons working in the Red Cross cold shelters in South Florida and have had the honor to meet and spend time with many homeless persons.  I have come to realize more than ever that many of them are intelligent and eloquent people who for one reason or another have chosen to live on the streets.  I have also found in the recent years that the demographics of the homeless person has changed, caused by our current economy. 

I’ll close by saying there is more to a homeless person than their outward appearance and people rather than ignoring, judging and ostracizing the homeless person should take more time to understand the homeless person. They are people too and if you are open to learning there is always something to be learned.  Remember Christmas is a time for sharing there are many ways you can help.  Maybe you have left over food from a Christmas party or Christmas dinner.  Rather than throwing it away give it to a homeless person who is only looking for some food to eat.  If you have blankets you don’t need any more give them to a homeless person to fend off the cold.  I’m sure you can come up with some ideas. 

Have a very Happy Healthy Holiday season.