You know what I saw right underneath one of these feel good ads… I’ll tell you what I saw.  I saw a man, with a battered coat, with nothing more than a blanket and a newspaper, sitting there.  Underneath that sign telling all of us to have a heart.  Telling the world that we should give a damn.  All the guy wanted was a dime, and not one person would even look him in the eye.  While everyone carried their new purchases, and walked down the street and read all of this marketing B.S. telling them to care, they did the opposite.  They. would. not. even. look. a. fellow. human. being. in. the. eye.  Forget the money, how about acknowledging this person exists!

I have lived in various places  and all have had some amount of homelessness.  I generally try and carry some change, but more than that, I attempt to look them in the eye, smile and say “hello.”  Do you know what happens… before I even give them change, their face lights up (most of the time).  They smile back.  They say something.  They look as if they haven’t had anyone talk to them in days.  It breaks my heart.  I can’t imagine not being acknowledged by anyone.  Cannot. Imagine.

I remember when I went on a date during college, the guy was a Christian and told me all about his good works and the mission he was going to go on, and what he already done.  As we left the restaurant, a homeless man stood beside us and asked how we were.  I answered him and talked to him while we waited for the light to change.  As we walked away from him, this guy said, “I can’t believe you talked to him!”

Needless to say, this was our last date.  I mean, the homeless man just asked how we were doing.  He didn’t try and come into our space, he smiled, he just wanted to say hello.  I’ve had worse incidents with busy business people who shove me out of the way to get off the fucking curb.

Why do I write all of this?  Just to remind you… this season… when everyone is cheerful and asking you to give (which, believe me, I’m happy people do), I ask that in addition to giving… look someone in the eye, smile and acknowledge your fellow human being.  Seriously.  You’ll be shocked at how good it feels.