The easiest gift to give

I love living in the city, for me it is pure joy. But sometimes as I walk the streets I love I come upon those who have lost their joy. It is hard to know how to best help these dear souls, but I have found such an easy gift to give, the gift of a smile. It may not help them in the way that money or material possessions would, but I like to think that maybe, just maybe, the acknowledgment of them with a smile and a simple hello might help them feel not so alone and hopeless. And a smile is something that we can all share so easily with one another.

 

How to be an earth angel

I was walking down 23rd Avenue, coming up to the corner where the abandoned storefront has become shelter for a homeless woman who looks to be about my age. Maybe because of that closeness in age I always take notice of her and try to imagine how horrific life must be for her. I wonder if I would be able to survive such a tough challenge in life, and say a prayer of thanks for all I have in my life that brings me such comfort.

And the thing that sets this woman apart from so many of the homeless people I see is that she never asks for help, she never has one of those homemade signs made out of a discarded cardboard box, asking for something, anything. She just resides on the corner of a street that provides her a bit of shelter from the storm that her life has become, just trying to survive.

But today I was witness to something that touched my heart, and made me think from my heart just a bit more. I watched a well dressed woman walk up to the homeless woman and ask her if she would like a cup of coffee, simple as that. The fall chill in the air has come now, and the homeless woman said yes, she would like that cup of coffee and yes, she would be there in that same spot for a time.

I fell in step behind the earth angel lady, and wanted to tell her “thank you”, for taking the time to perform such a beautiful random act of kindness. But really, angels don’t want to be thanked, they just want others to follow in their stead. People such as this are a shining example of how easy it is to reach out and connect with our fellow humans here on this earth.

A simple cup of coffee, that’s all it takes. But even if we can’t give of a material item to help another, I also believe that a smile or nod of acknowledgment to those who are struggling can sometimes be as warm as a cup of coffee.

I see the light! (or I try to anyway)

The God in me is loving the God in you. I worked with a woman who used to utter that phrase at various times, never quite getting it, and to me it sounded like one of those Zen koans that I never understood either. I was much too insecure at the time to ask her what it meant, but for some reason it has stayed with me through the years.

Now that I have a bit more spiritual knowledge and know the difference between the ego-self and the soul, I finally understand that cryptic phrase! It has now become a practice for me, to strive to see the light of the soul, the God in each person I encounter on this earth. But it is not always so easy to maintain this practice.

Walking past the homeless person, pushing a grocery cart that has become their home, my first thoughts are “they don’t look nice, they don’t smell nice, and where is their light of God?” Oh how the ego likes to judge, in such a superficial way. But if I tell my ego to quiet down and let my soul do the talking, I can envision a beautiful light inside this seemingly disheveled being, whose outer light has dimmed a bit. It reminds me of words I’ve read that say the most highly advanced soul is oftentimes disguised as a human being with the most challenging of circumstances, not always so pretty.

And then there are the button-pushers, those we connect with here in our lives that for whatever reason make us want to pull our hair out! How can we see their shining light when all we see is darkness when we are with them? For me it helps to remember that sometimes when we are scared or in pain, we lash out at those trying to help us, much like a wounded animal will do. It’s difficult for any of us to shine when we are hurting. And from a spiritual sense, those button-pushers really are our greatest teachers. From them we learn how to look past the outer and learn to see the inner, and reach for the soulful action that is forgiveness.

This practice of seeing and loving the God in all of us becomes a practice of compassion, one that our greatest spiritual teachers throughout time have tried to teach us. A simple shift in how we view others and connect with them can start a chain reaction of peace and understanding, as we tell our blind-sighted egos to step aside, and start seeing one another with the eyes of our souls.