Keep Your Head Up - Everything Happens for a Reason

While this post has little to do with Sustainability - in terms of the environment - it does, in a way, have to do with sustaining one’s own state of mind and keeping your head up when you feel as though you have lost everything. I meant to post this months ago, but life’s distractions got in the way. (Just to note, I do not know the ladies in the picture, it is just to represent great friends) I wrote the story below and sent it to a few friends of mine, after this eye opening moment graced me with its presence. 

August 31, 2011:

I’ve been sitting at Starbucks all day because I don’t have internet and am trying to look for jobs and was getting all sad and depressed about the possibility of not finding one. And then a nice homeless man came in and sat next to me and asked if I would help him plug his cell phone in, so I did and have been talking to him since. 

He was talking about how he became homeless when his house caught fire last year and the money he had in his account was frozen until he had a home again and the bank trusted him… long story… ANYWAY… he was also talking about how many people have been screwing him over and using him and how he is having to learn how to trust people again and learning who his real friends are and this is the first time in a long time that he has been able to just sit and truly talk to someone and that I’ve been more of a friend to him in the past 2 hours then most of the people he thought were his friends this whole year of his struggles. And that he finally was able to get his money and filled out an application for a home that he will be able to move himself and his family into tomorrow and is so thankful to be given another chance and that I was sitting here today so he could share his joy with someone and that it’s rare when you can say that years from today when you look back you will remember those few people that really made you feel special and that its funny how I just reached a huge goal in my life at the same exact time that he just reached a huge goal in his and we both managed to sit next to each other on this particular day and just enjoy it… 

Made me realize that you can have everything in the world, all the money, all the talent, all the material objects that you want… but if you dont have friends to share your time or stories with and laugh with or complain to and that will truly sit and just be your friend and respect/trust you then you have nothing or you could have nothing, no home, no money, no personal possession, but as long as you have do have those few friends who will look out for you then its the difference between having literally everything or literally having nothing… and sometimes thats all that matters.

Tomorrow is the first of the month… and he is no longer going to have to sleep or sit on the bench that has been his home on River Street for the past year… which has now literally been labeled “Joe’s bench”… is one big relief to him and he can finally relax and actually enjoy the fireworks that will be going off on friday… 

Funny how life works sometimes.

I ended up returning to Starbucks the next day. Joe returned as well, sat down and said “I had a feeling I would see you again.” We just continued talking as though the day before had never ended. When we said our goodbyes, he showed me the tote bag he had been carrying his few possessions in the whole year. He asked me to sign it and told me he was going to find a nice place to display it in his new home so that he will never forget me and this day. I know I will never forget him :)

On the psychological side - what was even more fascinating was seeing the faces of the other customers, as they watched me associating with this gentleman. Discomfort, confusion and shock are three words that would sum up their expressions. Then another homeless man came in, sat down in the chair on the other side of me, and started talking. He was holding a bag from the public library, which I found stereotypically fascinating, so I asked him what he had rented out for himself. He said books on hip hop, Tupac and writing. That he would love to be as great as they are, and how much he looks up to them as inspiration.

So many people are so quick to assume that those who are homeless are unapproachable, incompetent, etc. but here I had two great examples of just how human they really are. It reminds me of a great TEDtalk I saw recently, “The Year I Became Homeless”

Always remember:

Smiles cost nothing

Thank You goes a long way and

Hello can make a world of difference