The other day I was driving to work. Lately I have been having a bit of a hard time coming to grips with the monotony of life and have been looking for what is missing. As I was stopped at a light there was a man on the side of the road. He was going through the trash can looking for what he could find. As he rummaged through the trash I saw him find an old sock and a look of hope flickered across his face as he turned over the sock in his hands to see if it could keep them warm.
Before this moment I was thinking about all of the problems in my life and in the moment I saw this man I felt like there had to be something more I could do. I thought about disregarding my gut feelings and just driving straight to work but the rock in the bottom of my stomach was making the right hand turn to into the parking lot beside me. I parked my car and started looking for something in my car that would be better than what he had. All I had was a purple jacket and some chocolate but it had to be something better than what was in the garbage so I stepped out of my car with it.
The man had started to move away from the garbage as if nervous because he didn't know why I had turned into the parking lot. I called him back and shouted out to him "sir, are you looking for something to keep you warm". He turned around and came to me and told me he was looking for something to keep warm and something to eat. I told him I did not have a lot but I hoped this jacket and chocolate would help, handed over the items and walked back to my car. As I walked away from him I looked at my new car and realized the statement "I don't have much" was far from the truth. I had bounties of things to be grateful for. I have a family that loves me, a job that provides all the physical things I could need and want. In my life I have overcome so much over the last few years and though it is not not perfect my life is on the way up to something wonderful. Overall I might have my problems but my life is blessed.
I can only hope in some small way my jacket and chocolates blessed the mans life in some way because the moment of clarity he gave me was worth far more than the items I gave him. He had given me a much greater gift, he gave me the gift of clarity and gratefulness. Sometimes in our lives we are the rich and sometimes we are the beggers but each of us has a divinity worth more than the current place we stand in our lives. We are all connected and all a part of the larger whole of life. I hope each day our lives provide the opportunities for us to not only see what we have but also the absence of what we do not have. Sometimes in life the things we don't have are just as much a blessing as the things we do.
May your days be full of lifes blessings and may you always know your infinite worth.
