As I walked around Seaport Village, a San Diego tourist trap (located along the
bay adjacent to the U.S. Midway), I was over taken by an almost 30-foot statue
that paid tribute to our sailors leaving for war. The area was packed mostly with
tourist from faraway and a variety of vendors in addition to the homeless that
blended in with the landscape.
I was touched by an elderly gentleman who had chosen his spot to serenade the mobile crowd that remained fluid with his violin. His choice of playing ‘it’s a small world’ was spot on for the faces in the crowd that reflected the diversity of America’s Greatest City. As I continued walking around the area I was pleasing surprised to see a teen pick up a piece of trash. It would have been so easy for this individual to just pass by and do nothing. What makes a person stand out is when they do ordinary actions in an extraordinary fashion without being told.
I was also impressed as I witnessed another little miracle as a homeless vet had strategically placed himself close to the gigantic Aircraft Carrier with a simple sign, ‘Homeless Vet, please help me’. I saw another young person look at this elderly gentleman and quickly grab out of his pocket a dollar bill and place it in his jar. It wasn’t but another few seconds that another teen seemed to sneak up and do the same thing. Next, I overheard or listened into a conversation with someone telling a friend that they away felt awkward when people panhandled and seemed to expect everyone to donate to their personal plight in life.
So why be kind to stranger? Why give someone a cup of coffee or a dollar instead of an odd stare or verbal harangue for not having a job or looking rather out of place? What causes one person to stop their busyness and another to rush along and avoid eye contact with a stranger? I would hope that kindness would be a natural tendency and something that wasn’t forced upon you?? It was my outgoing mother that taught me over my youth that seeing those around you and choosing to engage them was truly God’s way. It was tough enough having a mom that seemed fearless in the face of strangers but then to have to share what was mine initially didn’t make sense.
It’s so difficult at times to see the future of our world improve when it appears that everything is about politics, power and the few with the means to control the lives of too many. Yet, these simple acts of paying it forward will continue to shape the world around me, whether that’s in Phoenix or San Diego. The question is whether I’m going to let go of my own cynicism and see life in others, regardless of circumstances, continue to captivate my attention and curiosity.
The incredible gift from being kind is a simple joy that transcends the evils in the world that catch the headlines on social media. What captures my heart and soul is seeing people care for another that forces them to stop and lift their heads up from their fast-paced lives.
I was touched by an elderly gentleman who had chosen his spot to serenade the mobile crowd that remained fluid with his violin. His choice of playing ‘it’s a small world’ was spot on for the faces in the crowd that reflected the diversity of America’s Greatest City. As I continued walking around the area I was pleasing surprised to see a teen pick up a piece of trash. It would have been so easy for this individual to just pass by and do nothing. What makes a person stand out is when they do ordinary actions in an extraordinary fashion without being told.
I was also impressed as I witnessed another little miracle as a homeless vet had strategically placed himself close to the gigantic Aircraft Carrier with a simple sign, ‘Homeless Vet, please help me’. I saw another young person look at this elderly gentleman and quickly grab out of his pocket a dollar bill and place it in his jar. It wasn’t but another few seconds that another teen seemed to sneak up and do the same thing. Next, I overheard or listened into a conversation with someone telling a friend that they away felt awkward when people panhandled and seemed to expect everyone to donate to their personal plight in life.
So why be kind to stranger? Why give someone a cup of coffee or a dollar instead of an odd stare or verbal harangue for not having a job or looking rather out of place? What causes one person to stop their busyness and another to rush along and avoid eye contact with a stranger? I would hope that kindness would be a natural tendency and something that wasn’t forced upon you?? It was my outgoing mother that taught me over my youth that seeing those around you and choosing to engage them was truly God’s way. It was tough enough having a mom that seemed fearless in the face of strangers but then to have to share what was mine initially didn’t make sense.
It’s so difficult at times to see the future of our world improve when it appears that everything is about politics, power and the few with the means to control the lives of too many. Yet, these simple acts of paying it forward will continue to shape the world around me, whether that’s in Phoenix or San Diego. The question is whether I’m going to let go of my own cynicism and see life in others, regardless of circumstances, continue to captivate my attention and curiosity.
The incredible gift from being kind is a simple joy that transcends the evils in the world that catch the headlines on social media. What captures my heart and soul is seeing people care for another that forces them to stop and lift their heads up from their fast-paced lives.
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