The other day I was standing in line
getting ready to check out at a grocery store when I noticed there
was a homeless person checking out behind me. Now I didn't know his
circumstances, but by the way he was dressed and the fact that he was
just buying a plain loaf of bread with cash, I just got the feeling
he was down on his luck.
This same situation happened to me on
another occasion with a homeless person checking out behind me. In
the moment it was taking place, I was a little uncomfortable. You
don't see homeless people too often in settings like this. In my
mind I was thinking I should try to help them by paying for their
items or giving them money, but on the other hand, I'm not sure if
they would get offended by something like this. I'm sure they would
appreciate it but at the same time, I would worry that they might
take offense to it like I am assuming they can't pay for their own
food.
So this second time it happened, the
same thought process went through my mind. I wanted to help but
because of the uncertainty of how they might react, I decided not to
do anything. There were other people around too so I would not want
to draw any extra attention in a situation like that.
It got me thinking about charity. I am
not a rich person and I do not usually donate to charities too often.
I live very frugally and pretty much only spend money on necessities
like food and housing. It's odd because even though I don't give
money to charities often, I wouldn't mind just giving a $20 bill to
one of the homeless guys in a situation like this. And this is from
someone who spent less than this on their entire shopping trip.
I think the difference is, if you give
money to a charity for example, the Red Cross, you don't see what
happens too it. You just assume it will be put to good use somehow.
It probably will, but since you don't actually see the effect, it
doesn't seem like you are actually helping. On the contrary, if you
see someone in real life who obviously could use the money, helping
them out makes an immediate difference you can see.
It really puts things into perspective
when you see someone who is much less fortunate such as a homeless
person. It is easy to get down on yourself and feel like you don't
have a lot compared to other people, especially people you see on tv
and in the media.
Often I feel like I don't have a lot of
money to spend, for example at the store, most of my decisions on
what to buy are based on price. There are a lot of things I would
like to get, but don’t, just because they are more expensive. Then
I see a guy who is less fortunate just buying a couple basic items
and all of a sudden I feel guilty as though I have too much money
because I can buy many things on a shopping trip.
Have you ever been in a situation like
this? What would you do, give the person money, or just keep to
yourself? It would be great to have a homeless person's perspective
on a situation like this. If the situation presents itself again and
it feels right, I hope to be able to help out someone in need if it
happens again.