LETTER: Compassion is a very important thing for each person to have

Madam

The other day I witnessed an old man outside a grocery store and he was asking people to buy him food. I do not normally engage with people who ask for money, because you can never be sure that when you open your heart, they are not taking advantage and using it to buy drugs and alcohol.

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This has happened many times and I have personally seen it where a beggar collects money that they say is to support their families, but the next minute they are in a bottle store using that money to fund their addictions.

For this reason, I do not give money anymore. This guy I saw was not asking for money, but for a loaf of bread or anything to eat.

I decided to put aside my own cynical attitude and buy him something to eat. When I was shopping, I added an extra loaf of bread and some meats from the deli as well as water and paid for it so I could give it to the man outside.

It’s getting colder and I could not bring myself to buy things for myself and my family when I saw with my own eyes how this man was suffering.

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I went to give him the food I bought and this elderly gentleman was so shocked that someone actually paid attention to him and bought him something to eat, that he just broke down in tears and kept thanking me.

I do not want recognition for helping someone, but I want to encourage the community to look out for opportunities to help someone in need. Pay it forward and let’s help support each other where we can. Times are tough for all of us, but a single blessing like this could change someone’s life and save them from another cold night of slow starvation.

Eyes wide open