the girl with the crappy colon

i've had this guy on my mind for the past few days..but not in THAT way. this guy is probably twice my age and homeless. i don't think he ever told me his name. he was dirty, he smelled bad and he was really just looking for a hot meal.

last weekend, i spent all day saturday volunteering at city on a hill. city on a hill is a non-profit organization, located in the heart of milwaukee, that provides many different programs for impoverished individuals and families. instead of sitting at home on valentine's day and being depressed for no reason (don't even get me started on how ridiculous i think it is that single people get suicidal on v-day) like all my single friends were doing, i decided to show love in a different way. i spent the day meeting and talking to around 100 people...most of them homeless, some living at the rescue mission down the street, others staying where ever they can find a place to sleep that night.

i had a great time talking to people and hearing their stories. a lot of them just really wanted someone to talk to and someone to listen to what they had to say. but this one guy said something that has really stayed on my mind. after asking him how his day was going, he told me that his day was great, but he really is feeling sorry for those people who are losing their jobs and being affected so greatly by the recession. i was completely caught off guard by his statement, and totally humbled. here is this man, coming to a homeless shelter to eat and get some free clothes, and HE feels bad for people who are being laid off from their jobs that are still probably better off than he is. he stays at the rescue mission and eats only when he can get a free meal, but he doesn't feel bad for himself, he feels bad for others that are going through a tough time. how selfless is that?

when i got to thinking about it even more, i thought about how much we (myself included) complain about our lives. think of how many times you get to work and ask someone how they are doing and they start complaining about their headache, or the traffic getting to work (i am very guilty of this), or whatever stupid complaint they have for the day. no one ever says "i have a headache today, but i'm so thankful that i have access to and can afford to by some medicine" or "i had to sit in traffic for awhile this morning, but i'm thankful that i have a car and a job that i have to drive to every morning." when you really think about it, we have become a very sad and pathetic society.

i wonder what the world would be like if we all stopped complaining.