On an outing to San francisco recently, I had the opportunity to "bask in the glory", and overwhelming energy of this city. I did a lot of great things, like chill in the Yerba Buena Gardens, go to the Apple store *my fav* : ) and spend time in the SFMOMA's (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) gift shop. But my favorite moment by far was when a homeless man offered me a "Street Sheet"http://www.cohsf.org/, a newspaper written by the Coalition On Homelessness (which means, I think, it's written by homeless people and people who champion the cause), right outside the museum store.
It was cold and windy that day and he was trying to smile despite the chill in the air and, I'm sure, in his thin clothes. You could see the honesty and kindness in his eyes, and also the pain. I was feeling pretty tuckered by this time. I'd been hangin' in the city a little too long, and was ready to go home. As I walked outside, I saw this man who was bravely weathering the elements, getting slapped with disdain from the snooty museum crowd that seemed to speed up as it walked by, and trying to keep his head up all at once. I bought a paper from him and we exchanged a smile.
Somehow, I knew that this was, that he was the most real thing I'd seen all day. The moment that most had meaning for me. Makes me think of the bible verse "Meaningless, meaningless says the Teacher. Everything is meaningless!" Ecclesiastes 1:2 Suddenly, all the pleasures of the day fell off me like icicles in the heat, and the man selling Street Sheets remained.
Apple, downtown S.F., H&M etc., I used to get lost in this stuff... I still do, but now I know what really matters to me, and that's a good thing.
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