As promised, my little acts of kindness. Curious about Joanne’s proposition to the ‘Beyond Borders Crew’ to perform a kind gesture to a stranger over the Christmas break, I decided to try out her suggestion. One night before work I made my occasional Timmies run, and saw a middle-aged man waiting behind me in his truck in the drive-thru line. It was not much, but it felt good buying his coffee for him without his knowledge. I do not actually know what his reaction was --it was dark and I was running late-- but I assume he was confused as to why a random would buy him his drink. In all honesty, it did not really matter what his reaction was, I did not do it to see his reaction or to get a thank you. I did it because a lot of times people focus on money like it is a force that governs their lives, so they must hold onto every penny. Yes, humans need money to live, but often times they forget that it is not the most important thing. While this act is nothing life changing, it is one step towards the vision I desire for our world.
The night before our first class at The Working Centre, I wanted to make sure I knew where it was prior to so I would not be late. So one night I drove down with my brother, and then parked at the Mary’s Driving School parking lot after I had found it to try to determine what root is the fastest root to get take. While doing so, a man came up to the car and lifted his finger. I was unsure of what he was doing because it looked like he was signalling ‘wait a minute’. So finally my brother rolled down the window slightly. The man roughly told us his story.
He just got out of a 11 year sentence in prison, and was wondering if we could spare $0.25. He stepped back to show us he was not threatening. I was confused at the amount he asked for. What could he do with $0.25? Phone calls cost more then that now-a-days. So instead I gave him as much as I had on me, $7 worth. When he received the money he asked “really?” as if he could not believe my kindness. To me it was nothing, to him it was something. He shook my hand and thanked me profusely, then as he walked away I wondered if he was being genuine. Often times people wonder if their good deeds are going to good causes. Sometimes we just have to hope that they do. I watched him walk away and saw him meet up with a friend waiting nearby. This sparked doubts in my mind, made me think that my money was going towards something other then food. But then I thought about how threatening it would seem if two men came up to my car. Would I have still opened up my wallet to them? Probably not. Maybe they realized this theory. I drove home with a clear head, knowing that at least I tried to help someone who asked for it, regardless of their motives.
The next day when we were taking a tour of St. John’s Kitchen, I spotted the same man outside the building that was outside my car window. It is often difficult to distinguish the crooks from the needy, that is true. But how would you feel if you turned someone away that was genuinely in need?
PAY IT FORWARD!
I was once in Toronto going on a greyhound out west and a guy came up to me, needing $10 to get his ticket to go to Calgary. After talking to him for five minutes, I figured he was worth it and as the bus was the last for the night at 12:30 at night, I figured I had just made a friend for the ride. Unfortunately, he didn't come on. I still hope that he was telling the truth and missed the bus for whatever reason, but he had tons of time as the bus was late. More likely, he swindled me. And yet, I would do it again because you have to believe in people as much as you can. I think that there are more good people then bad people in the world, and so if we pay it forward we can help out more then we know. Good read!
ReplyDeleteMuch like both your stories, I too distinctly remember a time when I paused to question whether my generosity was truly going to the cause described or if I had been the victim of a scandal. In Oakville a middle aged women would wait outside the stores of local strip malls asking for money to feed her starving children. I graciously donated as it pained me to hear of mother unable to provide food for her kids. Later that day as I waited outside my work for a ride home, I saw the same women on a cell phone. This was strange, is it was difficult for me to comprehend that a women able to afford a cell phone was unable to purchase food. Moments later a man pulled up beside her, driving a reasonably new Honda, and the women proceeded to get in it. It is incidences such as this that I really struggle with, and lead me to hold a shadow over random acts of generosity in the future. I know that in no way shape or form are all individuals that ask for help from others doing so with bad intent, however it is sometimes difficult to keep this is mind and I know it is something I personally would like to work on. Thanks for the great post topic, really got me thinking!
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