Lessons from the Nest

Lessons from the Nest
Generosity knows no bounds.
I stood out in the first warm sun of the season with my new friend, who
had just finished shopping. He had chosen a sofa, a chair, a small
kitchen table and chairs, a few lamps, and a bed frame, and could
hardly wait to get them home and set up.
As we stood with our faces toward the sun we watched a young man
cross the street and walk toward us. He held out his hand from the
soiled sleeve of his sweatshirt and asked for any change we might be
able to spare. His eyes never met ours; he stared at the concrete below
his feet.
He wanted “just enough for bus fare,” he said, which would be only a
couple of dollars. I told him I had no money on me and could not help
him. My friend, who had just spent the last of his disability check on
furniture, reached deep in his pocket and pulled out 40 cents. “It’s the
last money I have,” he said. “Are you sure?” the young man asked.
“Yep. You need it more than I do,” he answered.
As the boy walked back up the street, my friend watched him go. “I
don’t think he’s going to use it for bus fare, but sometimes you just
have to believe in humanity.”
Humanity. Kindness. Charity. Compassion. I learned several lessons that
day.
“Charity” goes both ways
Sometimes sacrifice is hard to see on the outside