The Beggar

    The beggar sits on a corner watching people walk by, with eyes not clouded by petty vanities and vain ambitions. Judged by all and considered inferior by most, he invokes little façade, ever cursed to witness the true face of man. Stripped of the comfort of illusion, reality is all he sees. Perhaps it is he who is disgusted.

    His crime is laziness according to most. His physical punishments of exposure and depravity are severe, but also come with the psychological impact of all the scorn a species can muster, his fate to absorb. Is it possible that someone would go to such efforts to avoid working forty hours a week? Surely it is more complicated than mere laziness. The homeless seem to be plagued by alcohol and drug addictions. Many think this is the real cause. I however, always thought that drug and alcohol abuse were not signs of bad people, but symptoms of a troubled world.  Perhaps if we had been walking in their shoes, we could better understand how someone could become lost to a substance that makes them feel better than they normally feel. The fact that illegal drug use and drug abuse in general has escalated in the current bad economy is just be further proof. Those devoid of hope, react in endlessly different, mostly irrational ways, normally to the detriment of all.

    We judge ourselves with the compassion and understanding of a saint, but others with the self righteousness and certainty of a ruthless dictator. We can never fully understand that which we have never experienced for ourselves. The judgment of others numbs the conscience and hardens the heart of man. False judgments allow for injustice and even atrocity from a potentially wise, compassionate creature of great integrity and character. For all of our faults, human beings are capable of a courage one would not expect to find in a fragile creature such as man, and a compassion that proves our creation by a mighty and loving God. Hopelessly bound by the ignorance of the shoes that we wear, all may sadly someday drown in an ocean of fantastic possibilities.

    Whatever views you now hold, would be vastly different if you had been born in the middle east, born poor, born wealthy, been arrested for no reason, looked into the face of prejudice, been addicted to a drug, or a myriad of other factors. Why not give each other the benefit of the doubt, since none are as wise or superior as we would deceive ourselves to believe? We do not have time for everyone to walk in the shoes of every other, so until that is possible, we must find the wisdom in the words, “Judge not lest ye should be judged”, so that we may stop judging each other into this hell on Earth..

    Neither the poor nor the wealthy are the cause of all problems, but simply symptoms of them, and or victims of the human nature that afflicts us all. With the issues and threats we share and face today, it is imperative that all come together through empathy and understanding, never suspicion, hatred, or blame. The truth is that none are perfect, but united we do have such possibilities, while divided we certainly will fall. We must give to those less fortunate without judgment and without expectation. An act of kindness always rewards the giver, though our faith may be betrayed. It is true that there are those who would deceive to take advantage of human love and compassion for material or financial gain, but we can never allow them to diminish these, the greatest attributes of our species. To do so would leave this world a little darker still.

    Ours is a tiny world indeed. We may find in the end that loving our neighbor is not a gift to the universe, but a necessity for the survival of us all. Humility is a main ingredient of wisdom. The sum of wisdom is forgiveness, a warm bath for the soul. Those who perpetuate tolerance and understanding help to create a world where the same may be returned to them in their hour of need.

    The homeless among us have given up for whatever reasons. They now wish simply to exist. We can try to help them if desired, or leave them alone if we don't. It is not for us to judge, for we aren’t nearly qualified. I pity the homeless and hope they will find comfort from the demons that torment their souls. May they find their way home, where they are as good as everyone else, and where they will never again face the harsh winds of winter, or the bone chilling cold of hatred from their fellow man. In a time of such turmoil, perhaps we should talk to the beggar, to seek the wisdom he must surely have found, in the silence of certain humility.