I was having a lot of yoga lessons, as usual, on my bike today—it’s better than a yoga mat for that in some ways since it’s still a pretty new activity for me. But the one I’d like to share is my “real person” moment of the day (if you’re not sure what I’m talking about, read yesterday’s post). I had to stop at a red light and there was a guy there with a cardboard “homeless vet” sign. There I was, right there next to him, so of course I smiled (which I sometimes do when I’m driving, but cars make it really easy to be separate). He asked me how my ride was and I said it was pretty good and that I was almost home. He commented how the hill I had just climbed was a hard one and talked about how he used to ride to work and we agreed that going down hills can be scary. When I got home I thought about how I mostly don’t think about how homeless folks had a whole life before they were homeless. I often remind myself that there’s no difference between them and me, but I don’t think much about the reality of that. With most people we meet, we have a tendency to think that that moment, that snapshot in time, actually sums up their whole being. Of course, this “thought” is so quick and subtle, we don’t even recognize it. It’s easy to look at a person who’s homeless and only see that, like they’ve spent their whole life sitting on that corner with their cardboard sign. So, anyway, I enjoyed my conversation with that guy today. I went back later to give him some money, but he wasn’t there. When I see someone as a real person, it’s hard not to want to help.
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