Saturday, September 3, 2011

What Should We Do with All These Needy People?

I spent four days away with family to have a mini-vacation. When I returned home, my animals, left in the care of a friend while I was gone, began competing for my attention. They were needy, and they didn't have any issues about expressing it. I didn't have any issues about meeting it.

Not always the case with humans.

Imagine the letter C drawn in the sand, with the open section facing down, so that it is not recognizable as a C. If I asked you what shape that was, you would likely say it was circular, because our mind likes to close things. We follow the loop of the arc and see that when closed it becomes a circle. We add whatever definition suits our fancy.

Now, perhaps it was really the beginning of the Greek letter Omega, in which case it would not be circular at all. We can't know until we have all the facts, but we come equipped with our conclusions ahead of time.

When I encounter humans with a desire for validation, notice, affirmation, or regard, I likewise tend to project my explanations on them. I create a "back story" about why they have a need, or what kind of need they really have, or if they even have a need in the first place.

A guy sitting on the sidewalk has a cup in front of him with some change in it. I've never met him before in my life, yet I observe him in order to form a back story. He's homeless. He's a drunk. He's mentally ill. He's lazy. He's a child of God. Yes, even that one!

I form a conclusion to support some action I feel obligated to take in regard to him. Do I ask him his name? Where he's from? What he needs? No, I just make a decision - yes or no; on or off; donate or don't donate; love or scorn; acknowledge or ignore. I have created my own story about him and I am satisfied with that.

I don't respond to him and his need with anything near the intensity or compassion that I offer my dogs or my cat. Instead, I imagine a reason for his need and, beyond perhaps a small donation and the same "God bless you" that I offer to a stranger who sneezes, I keep walking.

I wonder what would happen if I stopped and said, "Hi, my name is David, what's yours?"

Blessings,
David

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