Anecdote Of The Grateful Homeless
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more.”
Walking through the city, a street performer who played a pleasant tune caught my eye. His face glowed with an inexplicable joy. He looked sloppy, but that didn't stop him from singing his melody joyously.
I stopped to admire and enjoy his melody, but beyond that, I was more attracted by the joy with which he played his instrument—as if giving me a serenade.
In the end, I offered him a couple of dollars to reward him for his incredible performance, and he gratefully received it.
And I asked him: "Where do you get that joy from if, from what I see, it seems to me that you are homeless?"
He sighed, smiling, and told me: "Come closer so I can tell you this story."
On a sunny morning, a person woke up at home and stretched out his arms. As he yawned, a strange noise came through his window.
He looked out and noticed that the noise had come from the dumpsters. A homeless person peered through the garbage, looking for empty bottles and recycling cans.
The person from his window looked at the sky and sighed.
Then he said;
“Thank God I have a place to live and food on my table, and I’m not struggling like that poor homeless wretch.”
Suddenly, a loud sound of an ambulance siren cut through the air, rushing down the avenue. It was taking someone to the hospital.
And the homeless said;
“Thank God I’m not like that person inside the ambulance. That poor person is worse than me!”
Inside the ambulance, they carried a patient fighting for his life, and when they got to the hospital, they took him straight into the emergency room. In the hallway, he noticed that another patient was taken slowly in the opposite direction. He was covered in a plastic blanket, indicating he was dead.
And the sick man said;
“Thank God I’m not like that poor dead man they carry there. He is worse than me.”
And now, the dead man they had wrapped in the plastic blanket could not give thanks for anything. He was already dead.
The homeless person put his hand on my shoulder and said, “as long as I am alive, I’ll have a chance to rebuild my life. Thank God for that!”
I felt a lump in my throat, and I continued on my way, pondering his words.
Gratitude creates hope because, without it, we have nothing to go on in this life full of grief. Some have everything they need and get stuck in their delights, but others have needs but are grateful for the little they have. They delight in being thankful and hope they will have enough each day.
There are many things to be thankful for in life, and one of them I learned from “a grateful homeless man.”
Thanks for reading.
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