I recently made a trip to St. Louis to watch my daughter compete
in the International Sweet Adelines Quartet Competition.
(I'll be writing more about that soon.)
I made a side trip to City Hall on foot,
and encountered something quite shocking!
As I approached the building, a noticed a gathering of people in the side yard.
My immediate thought was
"That's probably a bunch of people with their checkbooks in hand
to take advantage of all of the properties in foreclosure!".
I've witnessed that many times in Ft. Worth.
It gives me the creeps imagining all of the people
who may be without a roof over their heads--
even more so since I've realized some of the tactics that are used by the system
to evict people and acquire their homes.
As I neared the building, I also saw some coolers, and thought
"Wow! They're even serving refreshments -- that's one way to keep a captive audience."
The closer I got to City Hall, the more my jaded thoughts faded.
I realized that the scenario was possibly not what I had imagined it to be.
Could this be homeless people lining up to get close to those coolers?!?!
While inside City Hall, I found the employees all so friendly,
helpful and personable.
I asked a couple of them if they were feeding the homeless
out on the steps at the side of the building.
Their reply was an emphatic "Yes!"
I replied:
"It's illegal to feed the homeless in Dallas!"
They both said the same remarkable thing....
"It's illegal in St. Louis too, but we don't care, we feed them anyway!"
I was SO refreshed and SO grateful to be witnessing such acts of compassion,
right in the heart of the city, by people who work for the city!
I was so astounded that they were willing to "do the right thing",
as opposed to simply "following the law", AND
actually taking action toward helping others, especially considering their work positions.
Though it may not be the best, or a permanent solution,
I feel it is indeed a step in the right direction...the direction of compassion.
This was the perfect moment to look at myself....
To see how biased my thoughts were.
To see how I jumped to conclusions,
and to see what expectations I had activated within.
It was also the perfect opportunity to be grateful,
to be open, to shift into a more helpful and positive state of mind,
and to adjust my thinking.
Seeing how my experiences have shaped my thoughts,
and how my reality and thoughts have shaped my experiences,
I received this moment to make some personal internal upgrades.
An even brighter spring returned to my step,
as I breathed the air of joyous surprise.
I just received a dose of humility,
and witnessed love and compassion where I expected none.
I was floored by this experience!
These few moments alone were worth the 1300+ mile roundtrip drive to St. Louis!
I'm so grateful to witness that things in the world are changing,
and that life keeps giving me personal opportunity for change as well.
I'm so grateful for HOPE!
