I went shopping today.
And as I was waiting for my sister to come out of Primark, I saw a man selling 'The Big Issue'. I had seen him before as I walked through the town centre. Once I bought a copy of 'The Big Issue' off of him.
But as I sat there I did something I didn't do before. I thought about his life. I wondered what had happened to him for him to be out on the streets, selling a magazine for income to live on. I wondered where he was sleeping, who he had to look out for him and whether he was eating enough. I wondered how the clothes he was wearing were, and how warm they could be come winter.
I bought a magazine from him.
Inside the magazine there was a story about a vendor who saved up £75 of his earnings to visit his daughter. He decided to sleep on the streets to have an early start in the morning and was mugged.
It really opened my eyes to the fact that these homeless people are vunerable, that they are still people, and the way they are treated by most people is with ignorance. I know too many people who would avoid eye contact with them and ignore them. I am one of those people. But after reading that magazine, I truly want to help.
I started with buying that magazine. In doing that small thing I felt a certain sense of pride in myself, for caring. I would like to encourage anyone reading this to also care, to do their bit for others. Even if it is simply a compliment to make someone feel good, or buying your books from a charity shop instead of Waterstones.
My sister currently volunteers for charity, working in a shop, and I think that I will do the same. Iwant to make a difference to other people's lives, for the better.
I hope that I carry this new thought with me from now on, as I think it has made me a better person for thinking it. I hope this has made you a better person for reading it.
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