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