This year my Christmas Eve was filled with more adventure than I ever expected. Infact, this is my 4th year spending Christmas Eve on the streets and it has always been the greatest life lessons but never have I faced such adventures.
My last great awareness experience taught me the valuable lesson of respect in our lives.
Once again, this Christmas Eve I dressed up like I was a homeless person and spent this beautiful night of giving and sharing on the streets with strangers.
It all started with my long johns, a full belly and a warm coffee. I was already blessed with so much more than everyone else I was going to spend this magical evening with.
-
I was making my way down the Vancouver streets through the nicer part of downtown and already I could feel peoples eyes all over me due to the way I was dressed, like I did not belong on their side of the tracks.
Most of these people gave such slight quick looks that the only reason it impacted me was because it was directed towards me. We need to ask ourselves, do we at times judge with our looks and actions without realizing we do them? Most of the times I do not believe these people even knew they were giving me such judgmental looks.
The greatest impact we leave behind with others in our lives are the little things that we do. These leave behind emotions that last a life time.
-
When I got to the location where all the homeless lived, it was one of the most overwhelming experiences than any other city I have done this. It felt like I was in an entirely different world.
There were people selling drugs, people using needles, others just lost in their own world of loneliness, some scary enough that I would not want to walk by their path and some just talking aloud to no one in particular as they wandered aimlessly.
There I was surrounded by people filled with their own individual stories with one commonality – bringing them all to this one location on this special night.
-
And so the adventure started. It was one of those moments that you can see unfolding before it begins. I knew he was heading straight to my direction with an unknown intent to me. He walked right over to me and the first words that came out of his mouth was, “Who the F^*((^ are you and what the F*(&^%&%^& are you doing here?” Well long story short I was standing at his drug selling territory. After chatting for a while even he had a Christmas Spirit of forgiveness. 
Once again I had the opportunity to listen to some phenomenal life stories from people in this world that we so often walk right by and only notice with judgment.
Life lessons revolve around us on a daily basis,
are we open to receiving them?
In the last 4 years of doing this I have never met an individual like Mr. Maca.
Mr. Maca has been living on the streets for 6 years now. He has a family he has not seen or heard from for 9 years. He is a man of high education, a Doctorate in philosophy.
He had such a calm relaxing demeanor about him and he just seemed so at peace with himself. All logic makes me question his self-peace but it was not for me to judge but to just accept.
We ended up sitting on the sidewalk against a building for a little over an hour. My only regret was I wish I could have pulled out a pen and paper to write down all the insight this man has.
He made me aware of the most critical lesson I learned that night. We are always looking for the right answers or at times just answers to give us guidance, answers to fix and heal different aspects of our lives.
Mr. Maca, reminded me the main reason why we never seem to find the answers we are looking for is because we never ask ourselves the right questions.
-
If we do not understand how to ask ourselves the right questions
than we will ever find the right answers.
-
Take the time to become aware of the kind of questions we ask ourselves, our children, partners and spouses, friends and strangers that cross our path.
When we start focusing more on the questions themselves it is amazing how the answers will reveal themselves.
-
During your interactions and communication always ask yourself the following questions:
1. Am I asking the right questions to myself?
2. Am I asking the right questions to others?
3. Am I aware of the little things that I do that affects people?
4. What emotions do I leave behind with my daily small actions and behaviors?
-
2010 will be a phenomenal year. Lets together make it a year of personal growth, a year full of love and compassion, a year of kindness, a year of intent, a year of calmness in our minds and souls.
A year where we as individuals make a difference.
Make this your year.
Wishing you all the best for 2010.
Fred Sarkari
Latest Comments