uncomfortablechairs

I was 12,000 miles away from my home in Atlanta walking down Queen Street in Auckland, New Zealand catching up with an old friend after studying abroad. We were broke college students but still found money to splurge on expensive $7 ice creams. As we ate those $7 ice creams, we thought we were better than the partiers paying entrance fees into clubs with money still in their pockets for drinks and the cab ride home on that Saturday night. Nevertheless, on that same street were homeless who were just trying to stay warm and get through the night.
A couple of days before, I had been given a small bonus of $50 from work. It had allowed me to splurge that night on ice cream but it then also allowed us to splurge others. I motioned for my friend to follow me into the little convenience store just down the road. Not ten seconds before we had seen two homeless people with a sign that said they were hungry and asking for food. We used the rest of that small bonus to purchase food and brought it back to the people.
We then sat down on the street right next to them, shook their hands and this is where our heads stopped swelling as we had been feeling quite proud of ourselves. We learned about this couple’s son who died suddenly in the middle of the night before he even turned a year old. We talked to their friend who lost her job because of drugs and now did not know how to stop. But we ultimately learned about giving when this hungry man gave some of his food away when his friend came by and then offered more. We asked questions as second by second we learned more and more of their stories.
We started that night comparing ourselves to one group on the streets before understanding we were no better. This lesson is one I hope to never forget as I travel and meet people.