“The other day as I was going into a fast-food restaurant, there was a homeless man standing outside, asking for money. I bought an extra hamburger and went back outside to give it to him before returning to eat my own lunch. I saw out the window that he had started to unwrap the burger and then, noticing something across the street, he stopped, rewrapped the burger, and left. Curious, I walked over to the window and watched as he crossed the street and, with a flourish and a bow, gave the hamburger to a homeless woman with a small child who was sitting on the sidewalk.
If you speak with homeless people, they will often tell you that the folks who generally do the kindest deeds for them are themselves homeless—or close to it. There is something about sharing a difficult experience that sensitizes you to the suffering of others and awakens a desire to alleviate that suffering. Those of us who are fortunate enough not to have had such difficulties need a different entry way: a conscious decision to act. So many of us want peace of mind but do nothing to create it; want love but do not commit loving acts. Kindness, love, compassion, and all the other affirmative values we desire in our lives don't just happen to us; they are generated by our decision to cultivate them within ourselves and then share them with others. If we nourish them, tend them with care, and freely give of them to others, then and only then will our lives be full of the positive attributes we long for. What quality of mind do you long for in your life? What action can you take today that will help foster that quality? It doesn't have to be something big—a tiny step will do."
