Observations, Neighbour and Interactions

It was a normal weekday and I got into my car to drive down to office. And as I turned on the ignition, I saw an old lady who was selling flowers with one basket on her head and another between her hip and elbow. And she was walking effortlessly while shouting out the names of the flowers that she was selling. Her footwear was worn out as a result of her routine (selling flowers). And I could sense in a her a totally different world view as opposed to mine. What I consider a necessity may not even enter into her vocabulary.

Cut to another. It’s the usual morning hour traffic at the Gemini flyover and I happened to see a beggar - - in fact, I always see him when I take the Gemini route (GN Chetty road) to go to office. This man hops with his crutches and stops by at most of vehicles begging for money. I have never given him any money, but last week something made me observe this man. He has a very unique way of begging. I’d classify him as I-know-my-way-of-business type person. He waits for the signal to turn red and then hops on to the road from the pavement and halts at every car for 4 seconds max and his facial expression is the same at every car. He asks for money twice and if there is no response he moves on to the next car (he never crosses the 4 second mark). From what I saw, 2 out of 5 (40%) drivers gave him money. This is this guy’s routine and that is what gives him his daily food. Though I don’t encourage begging, I wanted to understand this one person and so I have decided to talk to him next time I meet him. I’ll share that experience with you all separately.

Couple weeks back, on a weekend, when I took out my dog for a walk, I happened to notice two other different people - - a vegetable seller on his tricycle and a floor mat seller on his bicycle - - at two different spots. Since then, I sporadically see these two men as they go about doing their business. They sweat it out and toil everyday and that is the source of their income. Like the old lady who sells flowers, these two men have a life of their own which most of us are oblivious to.

The above mentioned people are neither celebrities, politicians nor great personalities. These are one among the 6 billion inhabitants of this planet and they are most often classified as poor class who barely manage to make ends meet. These are some of the few whose paths happen to cross mine. As we are so closely linked with each other through virtual networks, we often fail to see reality and identify ourselves with these groups of people.

And the more I pondered over this, two things came to my mind: the words of Jesus, “you will always have the poor with you” and His question from the Good Samaritan parable “who is your neighbor?”

This had a huge impact on me and so I decided to pray and talk to any new unusual acquaintance going forward. My first meeting after making that decision was a beggar. I met this old lady near chinthamani signal and she kept going from one vehicle to another. And when she came to my car, I got onto a quick conversation with her. Her name is Lalitha and she stays on the platform nearby and as the countdown on the signal was down to 10, I gave her money and told her the gospel and offered to pray for her.

And later that day, I parked my car and went to the elevator. The elevator’s door opened and I saw a new operator. I wanted to talk to him and so asked for his name and that’s when I realized that he found it hard to speak. His tongue was stuck to his lower jaw and as a result he couldn’t speak clearly. I didn’t want to embarrass him and so I asked him to show me his id. His name is Bala. And when I reached my office floor, I got out and told him that I will pray for him and that he will be healed. I could immediately see his face brighten up.

I was glad about these two interactions and I pray for them (though not regularly). And now I know who my neighbor is: the one who is in need and whose need only God the Father could provide for (we are more like His hands).

Lately, have you noticed someone who is underprivileged who was sent on your way by God and did you have a chance to connect with them and share the goodness of God. If not, venture into a wonderful opportunity of connecting with those whose world will be totally different from yours and you will love the interactions.

- John Xavier