A Little Sensitivity, Please

Luckily there are enough causes to go around. Just listen to the local news and you can pick anything from literacy, drug intervention, child welfare, you name it. Hopefully it touches your heart and possibly calls you to action.

My personal cause is homelessness. Now, specifically, childhood homelessness. There are so many issues that seem unnecessary in this world but I understand that the complexity of the situation warrants more empathy and compassion than I give it. It’s annoyingly self righteous of me or anyone else to mention that there are plenty of shelters and food banks in our city and that help is there if a person is resourceful enough to get it. The fact is, there isn’t enough help in our cities and the homeless population is growing. That makes me weep at times when I really think about this with an open heart.
Add innocent children into this and I actually have to walk away from my thoughts because it’s too painful. They are in my prayer earnestly every night and I feel my involvement falls way too short of what my mind's eye sees me doing.

But does it call me to action? Yes.

I’m not going to boast about what I do here but I do want to encourage you or your family to pick a cause – anything that touches your life – and grow by helping in some way. It takes you out of your comfort zone and raises emotions that you maybe never thought you had or do not want to explore. But that’s ok – I feel alive when I’m a little or very uncomfortable and have grown every time I do it. No regrets.

An interaction I had this morning sparked this blog. I try not to think of myself as a particularly insensitive person but, whoa, I got a lesson in sensitivity today.
A man was selling copies of The Contributor on campus. If you don’t know what that is it’s a program for homeless residents (what an oxymoron) to earn money. If you ever see anyone selling it – buy it. All the profits go toward the vendor and their survival and the paper is enlightening about the real issues surrounding the homeless written by experienced men and women.

This morning I spoke with the vendor as I got out my money – it’s only a dollar but I had to dig for it out of my really disorganized bag. I asked him about his weekend and he about mine. On the topic of the weather we both look forward to it warming up in a few days. Mindlessly, I mentioned that my family was a little crazy with cabin fever…..wa what?!? I immediately felt small as his response told me that he didn’t have a cabin.
Damn. I had to leave profusely wishing him a great day….yeah, a great day in the cold. But he smiled and wished me well. As I walked away, I surveyed myself with my wellness that I take for granted. Sometimes it takes an angel to reflect our image back to ourselves.

I’m very sorry that my lesson had to be at his expense. Apparently, I need more training. I'll work on it and that's a promise.