Saturday 2 March, 2013
Hello beautiful people!
In these past weeks I have found myself a bit downtrodden and frustrated. I am sure that it is a combination of many things that have me feeling this way. School for one, as well as life in general, my incredibly obnoxious back issues, and the devastating poverty that I see everyday. It is this poverty that has had the biggest impact on my heart in the last few days and weeks.
I have never personally experienced poverty. I have never had to worry about where my next meal would come from or where I would sleep once night came. I have been fortunate that my Father has provided for me and that I have not had to endure that difficulty so far in my life.
It is since moving to London that I have seen homelessness at it's finest. At the same time, everyday, I see the same men in their usual locations begging for quid. Anything at all. It is usually on my way out of the Tube station, during the evening rush, that I see them the most. It breaks my heart to see them struggle and hurt, but there is something holding me back from helping them.
My heart is telling me that I should give them some quid, but at the same time there is that skeptical voice in the back of my head telling me that they will just waste the money on booze or cigarettes. I know that putting a whole "group" of people in the same category, such as "homeless," is not right, but honestly that is all that I have ever really known when it comes to the issue that is homelessness.
At home I have learned to just ignore the homeless and their pleas, but it was one night on the way home from work that I saw a man sitting with a blanket, like one that you would find on a long, overnight flight, wrapped around his frail body, while he had his Lab in a sleeping bag. He was counting the change that he had acquired from the generous passers by. I did not want to be a creep, but I stopped to see what he was going to do with the money.
We always assume that the money is used for alcohol, but we never really KNOW. As he slowly got up, he tied his dog to the downspout and went into the little convenience store. A few minutes later he came out with a single bag filled with a few cans of dog food. I watched carefully and noticed that the bag contained nothing else. This man not only gave up his "home," but also his means of financing his next meal in order to feed his best friend, his dog.
To give or not to give that is the question...What would you do?
Life is hard and who knows if I will become that man that I pass every morning on my way to work one day. Do I help that man today and hope that I do not see him tomorrow or do I wait for someone else to help him and hope that he makes it through the night?
As I said earlier this is something that has been weighing pretty heavily on my heart. Anyway, thoughts are much appreciated.
Love from London!
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