A Break In The Weather
The reflection of what we perceive can sometimes hide the true meaning of the moment we are living.
For many, the gutter is the physical embodiment of failure, not having what it takes to make it in this fast-paced, success-focused world.
But the gutter, for me, is a very different experience.
I have just returned from a long walk around Bali, a simple stroll where I spent a lot of time sitting in the gutter with people I can only describe as good-hearted, honest souls.
As I sat down with them, they would almost seem embarrassed and offer me some kind of chair. The truth was that my legs would not allow me to accept their offer. The gutter was good, the perfect resting place for my weary body.
As we sat together, we knew we were separated by life experience. But the common ground we shared in that moment, the gutter, slowly but surely, dissolved our differences. Leaving just two souls sharing a space, making room for a conversation to begin.
The people I have met have a similar story to millions across the world. They have been left with very little, as if they are the poster children, for the forgotten damage that this pandemic and our reaction has caused.
Village after village, gutter after gutter, day after day, they would convey their stories in hushed empty tones, void of any real hope, matched only by vacant gazes that hid their absolute fear whichhelped to mask the unwanted embarrassment of their reality. Together we knew, we were just pawns in a game that was playing out beyond our comprehension.
We sat together in the levelling atmosphere of the gutter, brave faces on, fingers crossed for a better future while watching the traffic flash by. Very soon, it became impossible to ignore just how forgotten these people felt.
I have empathy for all who are struggling and for all that I met but what I feel does not matter, as it does not help. Yet a small encounter with one kind man changed that thought when I said goodbye, he smiled and said: “thank you, my friend.”
I walked away not understanding, but in a few short miles down the road, I started to wonder that maybe just taking the time to listen, when no one else seems to see them, was just enough to make a slight difference in a life the greater world may view as inconsequential.
They all had jobs, they all had dreams, and now all they are left with is a static view of reality while the world seems to be passing them by.
If you get a moment, stop and say hi. Take a seat in the gutter next to someone you don’t know and experience a perspective that may make a slight difference to a single soul.
It might be your very own soul.