My pace slowed down as I headed down the main street. After rushing around and stressing as always all day, I’d finally given up on the worries of the day. The sun was setting over the city and I allowed myself to just be present in the beauty of the evenings offerings. Tomorrow was another day.
As I strolled down the street I passed a homeless man. As I passed I remembered I had a little kitkat in my bag. I could certainly do without it. I handed it to him. Usually, I’d be a bit weary and walk on, but this time something to told me to wait a little longer. “What’s your name?” He looked a little weary himself, but once I looked him in the eye for a moment, we already had an understanding. I was just a girl with nothing to offer but a kitkat – and maybe a chat. “John.” Nice to meet you John, Why are you on the streets?” I was blunt. “How long do you have?” He went on to tell me in great detail the story of how he had come from very wealthy people. That he never had to work when he was younger if he didn’t want to. He had ‘everything’. His mother had sadly become ill and passed away, and had left everything to him and his sister. However, complications arose and to cut a hella-long story short, he ended up with nothing and returning to a drug addiction he couldn’t handle. As he told me all of this I put my hand up to stop him at one point. He was so full of hate, blame, of sheer bitterness. I empathized with him. Yet I noticed one thing – he blamed everyone and everything but himself. I didn’t say much. “ It’s been so nice to chat John ...It’s not too late. Turn your life around.” He thanked me for listening and I headed off. Something that breaks my heart is wasted potential. Everyone is equal – we all have the potential to do great things and make our own mark on the world. Success is not a privilege only the elite among us can ever achieve. It’s something that is accessible to every single one of us., whatever it means to you. This man was smart. He was mannerly, well-spoken and full of charisma. I sighed to myself. He could be anything he wanted. His mistake was simple-but deadly. Lethal in fact. He had forgotten that no matter what your background or sudden misfortune – YOU are responsible for your own life. You and only you. Not your family. Not your friends. You. People blame their circumstances on bad luck, but I truly believe through my experiences that good luck doesn’t just happen. It comes from true belief in life and having an attitude that the world we live in is beautiful beyond belief. It comes from wanting to give the best of yourself while you’re here. I have a strong empathy with the homeless, simply because I feel like it could easily be me or you or any one of us. I’ve worked with various charities over the past few years and hope to get involved again this year. I do think though, that to solve the epidemic that is homelessness, we have to look a little deeper than the statistics and the stereotypes that have caused the situation to become nothing more than a repetitive news headline. Housing, jobs and financial assistance are all necessary to help these people, but to truly help them we need to help their mindset. The power of the human mindset is greater than anything we can ever attain externally. Think about it.. We all have days when we don’t feel our best, we’ve all been through times when we’ve felt down or disheartened - But imagine for a moment that your life has come to a point where you are on the streets with nowhere to go. Nobody to call. Nowhere to turn to. Rock bottom. Isolated. Mentally disconnected. Scared. In order for these people to move on from this, the journey is going to be a slow one, starting with Hope, progressing with belief and continuing with action. With all the talk over the last couple of years on this topic in Ireland, the most important factor seems to have been conveniently overlooked. To Change your Life you have to Change Yourself. To Change Yourself you have to Change your Mindset. Yasmin xxx
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