Homeless, Worthy and Appreciated

December for me has always been a very special month. Even in my darkest nights of the soul, I’ve tried to make this month a time of being “happy for no reason.”

For the last week or so I’ve been in London visiting my two daughters who study here. Every morning, as I walk to the cafe where I’m writing my next book, I must pass in front of this church with the most peculiar out-of-tune bells I’ve heard. As I walk by, my attention can’t help focusing on the footprints that these two amazing human beings who society has labeled as “homeless”, leave there religiously in the same spot, as if they needed to “mark territory” in one of the church’s lateral entrances. My heart gets inspired by these two anonymous people’s lives. It wonders and daydreams for a while before I start my work day. I don’t wonder about when was it that society became so “inhuman” to ignore our brothers and sisters who have to live in this way. No, that would be losing my time pouring more negative thoughts into this reality that we all share, we already have lots of that! Instead, I wonder how to make these two homeless people “happy for no reason” at least for one day in December. Yes, use some of my time to make another human being feel worthy and appreciated.

So yesterday when I was coming back from the cafe in the afternoon, it was around 4 pm but a windy, cold and dark evening already. I stopped there to leave them a “surprise” that would probably make them smile. They were sleeping already. I wanted to say Hello but I preferred not to bother as they were all wrapped and covered in their filthy and smelly blankets. I left their gifts right in front of their ‘beds’ so that when they would wake up they could see them, yeah, kind of a ‘Santa moment’!

All this to say that when I’m referring to “making another human being feel worthy and appreciated” is because my gifts to my homeless friends, were not any kind of gift. I carefully planned them and got them as if I were the one who would be receiving them, I put into them all the effort I could because it is never about money and it is always about love. Have you wondered lately how easy it is to make this world a better place for all? How easy it is to be treated well as long as we are treating others in the way we would want them to treat us? It is so easy to share our love with those who would love to love us back…

This morning, as I walked by the same church with the out-of-tune bells one more time, my homeless friends had already left their “domicile” but this time their footprints were more than special to me. Right there on top of the same yellow blanket that I’d seen for the last week or so, there was this big sign with a written THANK YOU that just made me smile and think to myself: YES! IT IS TOTALLY POSSIBLE to be happy for no reason!

Until next time and don’t forget to be love,