compassion is one’s deep awareness of the suffering of another, whether a human being or an animal, coupled with the wish that we might relieve that suffering; it is the sympathetic pity and concern for the misfortunes of others. it is not easily portrayed physically or tangibly. compassion is only compassion when you feel it sincerely, when it tugs at your heart and nags at your brain and it leaves you wanting to do more and acting on that want.
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i heard the music and wondered if it was coming from one of the shops. the sad notes reverberated in the humid morning air and competed with the harsh sounds of traffic, the screech of unseen machines inside the buildings, and the loud animated conversations of people walking about. yet, it was still a surprise when i saw him. the tavern behind him was still closed but there he stood right in front of the tavern’s door, his viola case laid open on the dirty sidewalk, his neck bent close to the instrument, his eyes closed in concentration, his fingers, old and dirty, yet gracefully playing the strings. i forgot what the music was, but it was sad, and maybe even tragic.
i cursed myself because i knew i only had a dollar and some loose change in my purse. this morning when i made my bed, i found a shiny new dollar coin behind the radiator and i put it in the outside pocket of my purse. i felt bad because i wanted to give more realizing a dollar can’t go a long way anymore. i felt even worse when i saw that there was just a few dollar coins in his open case. but i assured myself whatever he had in there was enough for a meal at least. i didn’t toss my dollar in, i hate it when people do that – tossing their coins as if it was an afterthought, each sound of the coin hitting coins seemingly berating the unfortunate soul. no, i never do that. so i carefully dropped my only dollar coin, the one I was admiring earlier this morning because it was a shiny new coin. but it was all i could offer. He didn’t stop playing but made a deep bow in acknowledgment, a brief smile crossing his lips as he straightened his body up.
among my friends we sometimes talk about this, this panhandling that seems to be endemic of this city. shayla, whenever we go out for lunch, would have her leftover food wrapped and would hand it to the first vagrant she sees. one time a vagrant just threw the food back at her, but she still does it and only avoids that particular person. marie would give a dollar or two but only when they have something to offer back - "at least do something, even jump" to earn her hard-earned dollar. others would simply not give but prefer donating to charitable institutions; still others don’t donate or don’t do anything. work, they say, that’s what these people must do. lazy is a word often attached to the homeless and the panhandlers.
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as i wrote earlier, compassion is difficult to portray or photograph. i wasn't going to put in an entry this week for the 5+2's compassion theme but this happened so i got an exercise in compassion. also this evening, i found another shiny dollar coin behind the living room register which got me thinking that this weekend i should really make a great effort to vacuum my apartment, who knows, maybe a $100 bill is lurking and waiting for me to find it.
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5+2's choice for the week. thank you.
I know, always the tiny uncomfortable knowledge that there but for the love and luck and grace of God, could be me. Hard to look that in the face at times but better to have your offering thrown back in your face than live a life too afraid to reach out and connect.
more than 630000 Americans are currently homeless, 'they' make it illegal for them to sleep on the streets, but only have shelters enough for some. .. and they make it illegal to feed them,
good on you for giving to your fellow man
@kali66 - canadian stats estimate there are more than ten thousand homeless people in Toronto alone, most of them young people; shelters are at a premium and because the city is a melting pot of different cultures this is where the old-country culture of looking after one's own people come to play. we expect them to find work yet to get a place at these shelters just for the night, one would have to be there by five or you're turned away. some of them genuinely came into a luckless situation, losing jobs, etc., some have mental issues which make them dangerous for others, while others just plainly like the freedom that being homeless give them. we used to have a someone in my writer's group who wrote about her experiences living in the street for more than 10 years - she went homeless because all her friends did. still, i am wary because i came from a country where vagrancy is big business and that's another story. thank you for coming by and commenting. i really appreciate it, kali.
This is not a simple issue although many think it is. When Jeff served in the inner city ministry we had our eyes opened to some of the ways of the "street" which included knowing how to milk every benevolent program in town. I have also seen documentaries on some of the folks who perform on the sidewalk- in appearance they seem destitute, but in reality with no way to prove their income for tax purposes, they do quite well in a cash-based world. However, there are many examples I've seen where there is a real "homeless" situation and little hope of escape. In that way I see a hidden component in true compassion and that is discernment. It's a good thing to toss a coin or two, or even a dollar in a musicians case. After all, you are technically listening to a mini-concert, so it's like buying a ticket. But the panhandlers might not be all they appear to be. I was traveling with my younger son once and we'd stopped at a rest area. A man asked us for money and a ride to the airport as we went inside. Since it was only Christopher and I, I apologized but said I could not take him to the airport. However, I thought if his story of being stuck there for a day and without food or money was true, how could I show my son that my faith teaches me to care about the down-trodden. I remembered that we had not eaten lunch yet, so when we went back to the car, I pulled out my sandwich, several snacks and a bottle of water. With Christopher in tow, I went back to the man and gave him the food. It wasn't much but it was what I could do. If he was lying, he got a free lunch, but if he wasn't then I had done what was pleasing to God and taught my son the same. I like your photo- you could see the whole story in it without the words. Well done!
@amandal - big thanks! yes, too bad about beau; he's not posting anymore. he's one of the stars around here. brilliant kid, mind you. let's follow you back because i like what i see over at yours. :-) if you read this and i've forgotten to click the follow button, kick my arse because often i forget to do things.
@olivetreeann - i hear you on this. sometimes we have to simply trust the person and our instincts. if they happen to be a sham, well, it's in their conscience not ours. thank you, ann.
@lafish - thank you, laurie.
@cathrinemitch - wow, thank you, cathy, especially for the generous fav. much appreciated.
@sarasdadandmom - you mean in our lingo "heavy, man! heavy!" thank you, terry.
@claireuk - why, thank you, my friend claire. :-) also for the generous fav - much appreciated.
@salza - flattered and humbled, thank you, sally.
@henrir - thank you, henri, you're so kind with the generous fav. much appreciated.
good on you for giving to your fellow man
@eniaral - thank you, laraine. much appreciated.
@kali66 - canadian stats estimate there are more than ten thousand homeless people in Toronto alone, most of them young people; shelters are at a premium and because the city is a melting pot of different cultures this is where the old-country culture of looking after one's own people come to play. we expect them to find work yet to get a place at these shelters just for the night, one would have to be there by five or you're turned away. some of them genuinely came into a luckless situation, losing jobs, etc., some have mental issues which make them dangerous for others, while others just plainly like the freedom that being homeless give them. we used to have a someone in my writer's group who wrote about her experiences living in the street for more than 10 years - she went homeless because all her friends did. still, i am wary because i came from a country where vagrancy is big business and that's another story. thank you for coming by and commenting. i really appreciate it, kali.
Love your creativity and post-processing skills!