Tonight I was walking home from having dinner at 800 Degrees with my new friend Morgan, a fellow writer, when I passed a homeless woman and asked if she would like my leftover pizza.
There was half of the truffle cheese goodness—three good-sized pieces— remaining, and while I was totally looking forward to cold pizza for lunch tomorrow [that’s the best!], I could not walk by this woman without offering it to her.
She needed it more than I would. Actually, in all honesty, I am fortunate to not NEED it at all. We live in a society where we're taught to think we need so much more than we actually do.
With the holidays around the corner, it feels right to open our hearts to those who are truly in need. It is an epidemic right in front of our eyes, and yet we continue to ignore it because society simply tells us that it's not our problem.
Being surrounded by self-absorbed, soulless conformity can be ultimately draining. The best way to combat a disheartened mentality is to provide an example of how humanity could be— or better yet, how it should be.
We are taught in grade school that we must have three things in order to survive:
Food. Water. Shelter.
The homeless are constantly scrambling for the smallest hint of all of the above.
What we are not taught, however, is the other list of three that we need in order to truly live:
Faith. Hope. Love.
I will be the first to admit that I am terrified of homeless people. I have even gone as far as realizing a correlation between them and that show everyone loves called The Walking Dead.
To be blunt, it is heartbreaking, but we do not see the homeless as human beings. We probably view them as closer to zombies than anything— lifeless beings roaming the streets, begging for next to nothing just to…. Just to breathe.
But you know what? With any ounce of faith, hope, and love, no one would let their family or friends get to that level. We are lacking compassion, and for that, we are all responsible.
We are lacking the ability to care for one another as human beings, with beating hearts. Let’s bring it back; let’s let love take over, heal the world.
We have an overflow of potential. We just need to let go of our selfish tendencies that society has led us to believe we must own, and put the possibility to use already. More than hope.
Starting next week: Each Monday, I will introduce someone new on Caboom-Sass.com and write his/her story as a blog post. It will include an option to donate at the end— to give directly to the person that the post is about.
Each person will be given a sign to display that reads: “Have a Smart Phone? Read my story at Caboom-Sass.com.” with a word-collaged money jar and a few of my business cards, should anyone ask them who or how or why.
Before each post is published, the person will receive coffee/food while chatting with me, as a thank you for their willingness to participate.
For The Love Of Words,
X0.Brittney
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