Yesterday, I let a homeless man tell me that I was beautiful. I let him take my hand and kiss the back of it. I let him give me a hug and I let myself hug him back as I said “Thank you. I hope you have a lovely day.”
As I did this, I saw a man look over at us in disgust. A look I catch myself giving once in a while.
I live on the edge of the Tenderloin in San Francisco. If you are from the Bay Area, you would know that this hood is straight out of a gangsta rap music video. If my mom had any idea of the conditions of where I am living, she would personally pay for and take that 20 hour flight to drag me home. Every day, I walk by what looks to me like drug deals; I side-step spits, pee and poo on the side walks; I say apologetic sorrys to the beggars asking for change; I ignore the cat calls and compliments I get from the men.
I am ashamed to admit that I was usually that man — that man who looked over at the homeless man and me embracing, his face wincing with disgust. I remember feeling a little raw yesterday; I was caught off guard when the sweet old man decided I needed a compliment. And perhaps I was reaching out emotionally. I am not entirely sure why I decided to allow that to happen, but I did feel a rush of euphoria to my head. Surprised by my own actions, I immediately texted a friend and told him what I did.
“Do you feel good? Or do you feel creeped out?”
“I feel good.”
“Then it’s good.”
In a world populated by 7 billion people, you would expect meaningful encounters to happen all the time. Truth is, we all get caught up in our own little personal tragedies sometimes that we see right past the ordinary angels standing in front of us. My little encounter with this homeless man was in no way particularly special but it served to remind me that if I am willing to open my heart to possibilities, be kind and accepting to everyone, that any one I meet has the potential to impact my life.
Maybe the tiniest meaningful exchange of glances may be one of the biggest thing we’d get to do.
Perhaps.
Love IS all around us.
