As Kevin and I were walking down the human obstacle course of Broadway in downtown Santa Monica toward the Pier to meet up with some friends, we were presented with an obstacle we couldn’t so easily overcome. Mentally breathless, physically fatigued with our patience wavering, this obstacle interrupted our momentus walk and took us on an unexpected detour.
While standing at a red light waiting for it to turn green, so we could cross the busy intersection, we were met with the most unlikely of pairs. A homeless couple named Chance and Debbie Dollar. Chance was a very talkative middle-aged man with a scruffy beard, over sized jeans held up by a cowboy’s belt and a white polo shirt. Debbie was a reserved, perhaps even scared, woman who refused to speak or offer any eye contact. Her modest features, delicate face and slim body were unjustly disguised under a heavy grey hoodie and sweatpants. Looking at her, I knew there was so much more to her than her reserve. I wondered what her voice may sound like, what the shine in her eyes would look like, or how bright her smile would be... within this moment of wonderment, Chance snapped me back to reality.
Chance had asked us if we could help Debbie. Debbie didn't look helpless to me, she looked distant, as if lost within a realm deep inside herself. Kevin and I looked at each other, slightly confused with what the question may have entitled. By default, as our hands searched our pockets and wallets, we both realized that we didn’t have any cash on us.
Does anyone carry cash around anymore?
Kevin apologized and told him that we didn't have any money to give them. Unaffected, Chance asked if we could buy them a meal? Slightly surprised, yet pleased, by the question, I looked at Kevin and he looked back at me; we obliged. With only fancy restaurants open around us, Chance suggested that our best bet would be the Liquor Store across the street. And on that cue, the four of us began our race against the human obstacle course of Broadway Street once again.
Does anyone look up while walking around anymore? Perhaps we are too busy playing with our apples rather than offering apples. Perhaps virtual reality is far more captivating than the authentic reality surrounding all of us.
Nevertheless we reached our destination. While at the Liquor Store, Kevin and I waited in line while Chance made his choice of a drink and snack for both Debbie and himself. I wondered if and perhaps when he was presented with such an opportunity last. Finally with two large Red Bulls in one hand and a bag of Trail Mix in the other, Chance approached us with a genuine smile. Kevin and Chance met with Debbie who was waiting outside while I paid for the items. Once I handed Chance and Debbie their insufficient meal, I asked the couple if I could pray for them? Sure enough, Chance had a list of prayer requests. I had assured him that I would keep him and Debbie in mind and in my prayers.
Soon after Kevin and I thought it was time to part our ways. Little did we know that that was only the beginning. Chance had a story to tell, in fact, many stories to tell and he was determined to keep us as his audience. For a nearly 30 minutes, Chance had come alive while telling us his stories of travel, dreams and memories. Realizing how much time had passed by and recalling that our friends were still waiting for us at the Pier, we had to cut the our time with Chance and Debbie Dollar short. With an apologetic yet abrupt goodbye, we left the our newly made friends behind on the corner Broadway and 2nd.
Feeling as if I had left something important behind, Kevin noticed my weariness. He too perhaps was lost in pondering the moments that had just passed. He said to me ... "I think that he was much more hungry and thirsty for a human connection versus a meal…" Truly, Kevin was right. Chance wasn’t thirsty or hungry for water or food, he was parched and famished for a human connection, for someone to listen, to remain present and bear witness to his humanity, to his reality, to his consciousness.
Our presence, the time we spent together, perhaps satisfied Chance and Debbie Dollar much more than the meal we purchased them. Often times, when faced with the homeless, we dig through our pockets, wallets or purses for some spare change to offer. We satisfy our need for a good deed and dare not think twice whether what we offered to them was satisfactory. We don't think about their needs... perhaps we think it is not comprehensible. They are worlds apart from us... how will we understand them?
The world is not comprehensible, but it is embraceable: through the embracing of one of its beings.
- Martin Buber
Philosopher Martin Buber explains just this in his quote above. Often times, the world is not comprehensible. There are many things which we may not understand, they are far out of our range of experience, knowledge and comprehension. This is okay, normal, natural even. Now, this does not mean that this is our limit. In fact our relationships with the world and its inhabitants, being you and me, can be limitless. How you may ask? Well, as Buber explains above, our world isn't meant to be comprehended, its meant to be embraced.
I think no human being can give more than this. Making life possible for the other, if only for a moment.
Martin Buber
If you ever wonder what you may have to offer to another human being? Well, Buber and I are here to tell you that you have everything to offer. You have you to offer. Sharing your humanity, your life, your presence with another is everything. It is worth more than money or a meal. Sharing your life, even a portion of it will make another life possible, worthwhile, even whole.
Therefore within this world of intermingling realities and constant distractions, what will truly enhance our lives? We have become far too comfortable with, perhaps even reliant on, alternate realities, virtual experiences and artificial relationships. All of which are meant to enhance the human condition... Do they really enhance your human condition?
After meeting Chance and Debbie Dollar, I learned something about our human condition. Our hunger and thirst for a human connection is far greater than any physical hunger and thirst. We are meant to feed one another mentally and physically. We are meant to eternally quench each other's minds, bodies, and souls. We can make life possible, if only for a moment.
