Recently one early evening I was running errands with my daughter. As I dropped her off at a store, I noticed a man going through the trash, looking for food. I got out of my car and gave him what money I had.
“God bless you”, I said.
He looked up…and with eyes that spoke volumes…he began to cry.
Quietly I walked away and getting back into my car I thought…that was too easy just handing him money. I was unsettled. By this time the man had moved to a new trash can. I was struck by his determination. I got out of the car and walked over to him.
“I’d like to buy you dinner. Will you wait here for me? I’ll be right back.”
This time the man with eyes that spoke volumes didn’t look up. I wondered how many times someone had offered him assistance and never followed through. My daughter returned to meet me at the car.
“I am going to buy that man dinner.”
“Mom, he scares me. How do you know it’s not a scam?”
I thought, are we really afraid of the person or the raw emotions that what we are seeing evoke within us? That man could be any of us. Our storms are all different, but we all have known hopelessness, shame, deep grief. If it’s a scam or not…it doesn’t matter…either way it’s the brokenness underneath that we can all understand.
“I just want him to know he’s not alone. Someone cares.”
Coming back with dinner, he seemed surprised I had returned. I handed him the dinner and the man with eyes that spoke volumes met my gaze this time not with tears but with the words,
“May every piece of your heart be blessed.”
I smiled and walked away. Looking back I saw the man with eyes that spoke volumes waving goodbye.
Wired in every human heart is the desire to be seen, understood and connected. Empathy doesn’t mean we have to share the same life experiences. We all know what it means to have pieces of our hearts broken, and we connect through our shared emotions. I’ve carried the image of the man with eyes that spoke volumes with me ever since our encounter.
“May every piece of your heart be blessed.”
Yes, dear man with eyes that spoke volumes…thank you…for me and my daughter, you did just that!
Michelle says:
It’s beautiful how, if we take a leap of faith, our heart-felt actions are truly able to affect another in ways we might not imagine. Very touching
Lisa Griffin says:
Pass the tissues…
Caitlin says:
Such a good post! It really makes you think. We all should be better about doing good deeds for others.
Emma says:
This post is great. Your quote “May every piece of your heart be blessed” is something we should all say.
Celi says:
I love this. We never know who that person could be. Next time I wont think twice when someone is in need. I will help them.
Gerry says:
I enjoyed this post. We often forget that we share our humanity with everyone.