On Tuesday evening after facilitating a meditation/mindfulness class in Dublin I had a rather interesting experience which reinforced the very topic we were exploring – how to see God in everyone and how much we have to be grateful for.

About midnight I stopped at a shop to buy a cold/flu remedy. It was a bitterly cold night with the wind howling by the shop front. I looked over and saw a homeless man sitting on his little box outside the shop with his little cardboard begging cup in hand. The manager of the shop was very politely trying to get him to move on. I wondered where he was going to go? Where was he going to sleep on such a bitter cold night? Was this in some poor part of the world where I saw this? No! It was in a weathly superb of South Dublin, Ireland which up until recently had one of the fastest growing economies in the world!!!

I offer this poem as a reminder to us all on this thanksgiving day of how much we have to be grateful for – may it remind us that on these cold winters nights if we have a bed to sleep in we are far better off than many:

The Homeless Man

I was reminded last night how lucky I am
when on a bitterly cold evening late at night
I saw a homeless man.
Huddled up on his little box
his cardboard cup in hand
the shopowner didn’t want him there (nor did anyone else)
his unsightly presence reminding us
of the part of society that has been let slide.

I wondered could I help so I gave him some money for tea
with distress and sorrow in his face he cried
“I’m in so much pain, so much pain”
and offered his thanks to me.

I didn’t know what to do
so I offered a silent prayer
and hoped some light would come his way
to help him in his despair.
Then from out of the shadows I saw,
another homeless man, his back hunched
feet dragging in oversized shoes
his little cardboard cup in hand.

Will these men really have to sleep on a darkened street
on this bitter of winter nights?
while airwaves bombard us with the harvest of greed,
vast self-indulgence and we blame it on one man! (ref Ireland FAS issue)

The problems we face are Spiritual
for we havent answered love’s eternal call
to care for our brothers and sisters
and share what we’ve got with one and All.

So now carry in your pocket
some extra money to share
a greater Love in your heart
or even a silent prayer.
Whatever your way
give, Give, GIVE!
and show you care
so that in the future people may say:
“YES” we were the generation that …
Truly learnt to Share.

by Sean M Kelly 27 November 2008, ThanksGiving Day

Thanksgiving 2008