Just Like You … ( 07 / 21 / 2014 )
Just Like You … ( 07 / 21 / 2014 )
I lived purposefully “ on the streets ” for over two years of my life , and during that time I met hundreds of homeless folks -- all of them to a degree " dirty " or " crazy " or " lazy " or " addicted " or " lost "; just like me at the time ... indeed , just like all of us today . And -- just like me at the time ( and all of us today , and just like each & every homeless person any of us will ever encounter in the future ), they were all human beings ... they were all people -- Good People , at that … Each and every one of them had a unique story to tell , and each & every one of them had every right to be given Compassion over callousness , and Joy over judgment .
You will see them today as you are out & about – my homeless Friends , and when you do you might be tempted to look upon them with scorn or disgust ... You might be tempted to pass them by ... You might be tempted to turn away instead of offering a smile and some Kindness … Fair enough .
And yet know that if you do so ... it will not only be their loss ; … it will also be your own .
" A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe , a part limited in time and space . He experiences himself , his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest , a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness . This delusion is a kind of prison for us , restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us . Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures ."
~ Albert Einstein
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