A woman walking down the street saw an unshaven, ragged elderly homeless man begging on the street corner. It was very cold that day and the old man had a coat that was tattered and worn. The woman felt the need to assist, so she stopped and asked if he was alright. Assuming she would make fun of him, he quickly told her to go away. But the woman stayed standing there, smiled, and asked if he was hungry…. he hesitantly accepted. As they walked to a nearby cafeteria, the manager quickly came over and told the lady that she could not bring a homeless man into his café. The old man was used to this treatment and started to turn away, when the woman turned to the manager and said, “do you know the big bank down the block?” “Yes” he replied. “They come here for weekly meetings in my banquet room”. She then asked, "and do you make a good profit from them?” When he sharply asked why she wanted to know, she simply stated; "I am the CEO of the bank”.
The manager did not say another word as the CEO and the old man sat down for a meal. Shocked by the CEO the man asked "why did you do this for me? "The CEO replied "I was homeless as a little girl. We never had enough to eat, and when my mother had gathered enough money for a meal, we were often turned away by the restaurant manager. When I became CEO of this bank, I promised myself that I would never pass up the opportunity to help someone who is hungry”.
An inspiring story about a stranger helping another stranger.
But what can I, as a single individual, do with such an inspiring story?
I am not a powerful CEO nor am I rich or in a position of power or with a voice louder than a typical person.
Allow me to share with you this photo I took last week with my wife while walking in Jerusalem’s city center.
This picture shows a couple of women probably in the high school age range, in a loud and boisterous conversation with whom appears to be a homeless individual.
This individual seemed slightly high, but the girls were talking to him, laughing with him, and making him feel like he was a regular member of society, no different than you or me.
Now, what those girls did, didn’t cost any money or too much effort. All they were doing was giving someone in need a few minutes of their time, and, with no doubt, they made this man’s day, and probably much more.
Every human in every spec of the globe has an innate desire to feel loved, to feel cared for and to feel connected to something larger than themselves.
Yet too often those needs go unnoticed or even worse, ignored by those closest to us.
We all know that low feeling that you get when you need help from others and don’t get it.
So, the next time you come across someone that could use some assistance, just remember that you are aren’t too small or too insignificant to offer help.
You don’t need to be a CEO or a powerful person.
You just need to be someone who can lend a piece of their heart for 5 minutes, or even 2.
You will feel better about yourself (and maybe even get into one of my articles!)
Lastly, what you may perceive as a small gesture of kindness to others may be perceived by the receiving party as lifesaving.
So go ahead and do your small step to make the world a better place to live in.
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