Talking to homeless people taught me some very precious life lessons

endorphoenix (55)in #life • 7 years ago

What do you think when you see some homeless people? Do you belong to the ones that feel sorry for them, the ones who judge them or feel even disgusted, or the ones that try to help and be there?

When I was only a teenager I started asking myself why people start to treat their brothers and sisters around the world so much different (and mostly negative) when they need their love, compassion and help the most.

I never cared about how someone is looking or dressed, whether he/she has a job or not and things like that. Even when I was a very young girl I was only interested in who they are, what their stories are. I didn't care about society things. To me we are all the same, we are humans.

And so I started spreading the love I wished to be normal amongst our global family and give help and hope to those who appreciate it the most.

Whenever I saw a homeless person sitting on the street or another place outside, I went over to say „Hi“, give them a smile and ask what they need. Most of them were very hungry and thirsty and so I often bought some food and drinks and returned to have lunch together. Besides the infinite gratitude and their touched heart, I got so much more back for my help (even if I never expected anything in return). By not only giving them their meal, but sitting down with them, eat together and listen to their stories and wisdom, I learned a lot of very precious and touching life lessons.

Today I want to share the voice of the unheard with you. Maybe it inspires you to sit down with them, have lunch and talk to them, too. For you it is maybe only a few Dollars/Euros or whatever currency you have and a few minutes or hours. To them it can mean the world!

I am very grateful for every lesson they taught me, every touching story they shared with me and every smile they gifted me with.

Always see the positive side of the situation – it makes life much easier and beautiful!

This lesson gave me the goosebumps. I talked to the poorest people with no home, no food and no comfortable clothes to wear and they told me to stay positive!
Their words impressed and touched me so deep, I had tears in my eyes.

„By complaining about your life and the situation you only make it worse and close every door to see the wonderful things that are around you and you are blessed with!“ one of them said.

„What are the positive things in your situation for you?“ I asked.

He answered: „I am free! I can go wherever I want, sleep wherever I want, I don't have to do a job that makes me unhappy and I can just be, just live! Every day is an adventure. I never know what tomorrow will bring, what I will eat, where I will spend my time and what people I will meet. People with a normal life only experience routine. Yes, they have a warm home, a bed and good clothes. But their life is somehow dead sometimes. They do the same job, always know what they will do the next day and what they are going to eat. There is no surprise in their life anymore. But mine, may it be as poor and humble as it is, is full of surprises, life and adventures!“

I started to think about it still dosen't let me go after many, many years. This man has such a great mindset, I guess! He also has some days when he could scream or cry and is sad, but most of the time he remembers the good things and so discovers the positive aspects in his situation. He inspired me a lot to keep in mind that every medal has two sides and it is up to us which one we will give the most attention to!

Don't be jealous of those who have more – be grateful for what you have!

Isn't it impressive that those who need help and material support the most teach you to be grateful for what you have?

Most of us tend to get very jealous on those who have more money, travel more often, have a nicer home or things like that. And they get so frustrated that they aren't able to enjoy what they are blessed with anymore!

Many of the homeless people I talked to said that they quit being envious on people walking by and eating delicious foods just for fun while they couldn't even afford a proper meal. By being happy that they get enough from the people that are willing to help that they were able to survive and have something to eat at all, they got a whole new perspective. Instead of thinking: „ Oh man, she's eating some tasty Italian food and delicious ice cream while I can only eat some bread and cheese!“ a lot of them started to think: „Wow, I have some bread and cheese and I have enough food for today! Other people worked for it, so I can survive and now I am here and can enjoy it! Isn't that great?“

This isn't only a beautiful act of gratituade, but also such a wise way to get aware of everyday's blessings instead of overlooking them due to all the envy and frustration. (Even if I think the ones who taught me that lesson would have any right to feel frustrated, which makes it even more impressive to me!)

And one thing they told me again and again: Gratitude makes every situation SO much better. Whenever you are down, feel lonely or find yourself in a heavy situation just try to find the things you can be grateful for and your suffering will be so much smaller!

You can't imagine how much they rejoiced when I brought them some foods they only eat very rarely, such as chocolate, cake, ice cream, and other yummy things as they have to spend their money on foods to survice in the first place. They said: „Everyone is grateful for things like that, but to people like us who eat them so seldom, it's like a piece of heaven! So one beautiful lesson being homeless taugh us: Being grateful and not taking anything for granted!“

And they are absolutely right! There will always be people that have more than we in some ways. But this should never keep us from seeing all the things we have and that life gifted us with!

Hearing such humble words by those who sometimes don't even get fed up showed me that we always can find something to be thankful for!

Know your value!

The stories and reasons why the people I talked to became homeless are as versatile as life itself. Some of them even fighted until the end, but they had no other choice that living on the street.
This is not only sad and makes me angry, there is one thing that makes it even worse:

People treating them disrespectful just because they are in this awful situation! This is so hurtful and degrading. One of the men once told me that he and his friends all ended up on the street for reasons they had absolutely no influence on. They were just victims of the system and modern society. And it's exactly them who judge and attack them for being in this situation! Isn't this terrible?

In Germany there are different homeless newspapers which they can sell to people to at least earn a little money to buy food and drinks. But a lot of people yell at or even insult them!
„Look for a real job, parasite!“ and other painful things like that some people shout, one of the men told me. He even experienced how homless have been attacked just for being homeless!

„This hurts so bad! But one day you feel like standing on a crossroad thinking: Do I really want those people to destroy me, or do I want to get aware of my value? I am also a human being, just like them! The only difference between us is that they have more money than I do and a warm home! Remembering my own value became kind of my prayer, it made me strong. Like a protective shield against negative vibes. And it helped me to get through all this and not give up.“

The strength, their stories and their will to believe in themselves made me cry.

„Whatever happens to you girl, NEVER ever forget one thing: You will always be as importnat as anyone else! No one will ever be more important than you! Especially not because they have money! Keep that in mind! You deserve to be treted respectful in any situation in your life. And if anyone does not treat you right, stand up and never let someone push you down!“