On Being Alone




When I went home this evening it was raining. I thanked God I was already inside the bus when it poured. We did not bring the car today, I commutted home. And as expected when it rains there is traffic. As I stared blankly outside the glass window I noticed a man who had on dirty clothes was sitting in a make-shift bed staring blankly infront of him. He looked cold and lonely and suddenly I felt sad for him.

I thought, why was he alone? Did his family abandon him? Or did he ran away? Did he have food? Traffic was a standstill so I was able to look at him more closely. Like always, I started to imagine myself in his shoes. People were walking by, not even giving him a second look. It was pathetic. If it weren't raining hard I would have gone down the bus and given him some alms or maybe something to eat. How lonely he must be feeling not being able to talk to anyone, no one to share his aches and pains. Nothing to live for, really. What story does he have to tell?

I don't know but I always have this soft spot for old people and for children. There is this old woman who I see everyday on my way to work, she is probably around 70 years of age and she is very thin and pale. The first time I saw her I don't know what came over me but I opened my bag and pulled out all the sandwiches I prepared for myself that day and gave it all to her. She was surprised when I handed it on her palms and I was only a few steps away, when I looked back she was already devouring the sandwich as if she has never eaten in days. That broke my heart. I said to myself, what if I gave her a little something to eat each day I pass by?

So the next day, I brought some bananas with me and handed it to her, like always I would look back and I would see her already eating the food. Hmmm, I said to myself should I go a little further and give her some canned goods? The next day when I passed by she was not there. My heart skipped a bit, did something happen to her? Why wasn't she there? On my way to the office I kept thinking about her. The following day she was there! I almost hugged her with delight, instead I gave her a hundred bucks (well pesos in our currency). Her eyes popped open! I wanted her to go home and rest like grandmas are supposed to do and not sit there in the hot sun all day waiting for someone to help.

In this day and age, it's so hard to keep a pure and good heart. There are a lot of things that stop us from helping other people. Cynicism, fear of being fooled, fear of being rejected. But sometimes you just have to let go and let your heart decide. Who knows you could be saving a life.

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” - Albert Pike

Comments

Our Love Story said…
oh... we share the same feelings... i do have soft spot for very old and young children (esp. abandoned, if not... abused). how could their families afford to abandon them? there are many reasons why...but just the same,i hope our government can do something about this...

like you, i have a friend also who is a beggar in the adoration chapel that i religiously visits every wednesday... now, she's out for a while and has given birth to her second baby. she is a leukemia patient, wheelchair bound due to her poliomyelitis... but is very strong and willed individual... she is very happy and appreciative despite of her condition... i extend help to her in any small ways i can coz it makes me feel happy for having done something for others!

our little reach-outs with the less fortunate ones count...

tnx girl for sharing and taking time reading my very long comment...hahaha! i just missed your posts!
louann said…
I hear you Sophia, it is heartbreaking. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that there is still hope for our country. It is a problem we all have to face. Little thins like that make a great impression in the hearts of those people.
surjit singh said…
Sophiagurl, you did the right thing.I agree with your views.
...'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give...'
Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
God bless.
One of the other prominent fear is the fear of being outnumbered...and the feeling of rejected isnt taken well by a lot of people :)

Cheers and yea you have a nice blog :)

My blog: www.cherryantacids.blogspot.com

Since you are a mother..I'll be glad if you check out my post on the mothers day :)
Sophiagurl said…
@@@Jen - I am really glad to have found someone like you, it's really rare to find people who have a pure heart and I find one such heart in you my dear.

And I do love your receiving your comments, in fact i so look forward to them. =)

Louann - Yeah, like you sometimes I feel hopeless for our people as well. But I keep thinking, if no one does something then nothing will happen.

Have a great day!

@@@Surjit - thank you Surjit for your lovely comment. May God bless you always too.

@@@Comfortably Numb - wow, yeah i visited your place and loved the poem that you read for your mom. I hope you let her read it so she'll know how you feel about her. And hope to see you back here too!
Vlado&Toni said…
hello, i came here through jen's blog (our blog story)
this is a touching post, you have such a good heart. do you still see the old woman nowadays?

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