the beggar on the street

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i'm currently weeding out the messages in my email when i came across a journal i sent to my dear friends some time ago. it's about the beggar on the street. he looked so pitiful, it was so depressing. i couldn't imagine my parents or even any other person's parents that i know of would be able to live like that. i just want to share what i wrote in it: the man was very old. must be in his 70s or close to 80. the first time i saw him, my friend and i almost didn't see him coz he was asleep under a very dirty blanket near the pavement. in a bit of a shock, we had to step back when we realized there was actually a person there, we thought it was a bag of trash. we quickly looked for something in our grocery bags for something he could eat and left it beside him before we proceed to go on our way. we didn't want to disturb his sleep. that same night it rained hard. i didn't notice coz i immediately fell asleep coz of tiredness. i only learned about it during breakfast the next day when my flatmate arrived from her evening job. i worried about the old man in the street... how he fared the night before. and it was something to put me off food. coz when i'm depressed, i could not take a bite. i can't imagine myself getting old and becoming like that. the next time i visited the grocery that week, i made sure to buy 2 packs of the expensive loaf of bread i usually buy. one was really intended for the old man should he be there when i pass that road. it has been my practice not to give money to beggars, instead of which, i give food, usually bread. on my way back to my condo building, i saw him, just as where i saw him last. i had goosebumps when i saw the sparkle in his eyes when he saw me reaching for the loaf of bread from my grocery bag as well as a bottle of water. his arms were already outstretched and expectant. and the smile i saw on his lips could have been a mile wide had his ancient facial muscles permitted him to do so. it was a simple gesture but one that later made me smile myself... coz i made another human being ease his suffering even for a moment. it was his smile. and i tell myself, my family and my friends... how blessed we are... how lucky we are. that even if i grew up from a poor family... i was never as poor as the beggar on the street... no family... no friends. so... when you ever thought of yourself unfortunate, so poor and your life is full of trials and hardships... remember that there are people even less fortunate than we are who strive to keep on moving on. coz our life should never be on a standstill. life goes on and so must we. and if we don't see the little blessings that come our way... we will never see the real treasures in our lives. may we always find time to care, and means to share. take good care of all the people you love and care about. you wouldn't want to end up... a beggar on the street. ------------ after reading this personal journal of mine, i remembered that i actually went back to the place where the beggar is before i changed my city residence. he was no longer there. when i asked the traffic enforcer in the area about the beggar there, he said he hasn't been seen for some time already. there was a bit of sadness and disappointment that i felt then. i realized i could have done more but wasn't able to. so i'm resending this piece of my journal to people here in mylot. hoping to remind people to care and share... more. thank you! :)