Learn the transit,
Drink Starbucks because Tim Hortons is just too Suburban and unhip,
And ignore the crazy people.
When I first moved to Toronto, I couldn't help but notice them. Even more disturbing was the "sane" people who walked passed them, Ignored them, told them to go get a job. "How cruel" I thought. How could people be so cold? How can you just walk past another human being like they were a crumpled up piece of garbage they found lying on the floor.
Fast forward 3 years later.
I have become one of those people. The kind of person who walks by my fellow city dwellers who hang out near the Princess of Whales theatre, or the local grocery stores. I choose not to see them. They annoy me. They should certainly go and get a job.
But for the past couple of months I've taken a new route to work.
I drive my electric bike and stop off at the local Starbucks in the morning for my morning dose of my ethically grown and environmentally friendly cup of Java. "Good for me" I say, as I read the side of the Starbucks cup that proudly announces that just by stopping in and buying a cup, I have helped Starbucks help farmers in several countries. I have contributed to employing more and more farmers around the world. I am doing my job to help others. Am I?
It's a morning ritual for me. Every morning, like clock work, I grab my coffee.
Every morning I also see the crazy man on the patio who chants prayers in a language I don't understand. Every morning, I take a seat on the same patio and read the Metro paper online from my Iphone. And every morning, I get to know the crazy man a little bit more.
He's tanned. His skin tells stories of travel and his eyes have a history so deep that I often want to ask, but I don't.
Who are you?
Where's your family?
Where do you live?
People stare at him and laugh and I find myself getting angry. Because beneath his weathered skin and misunderstood body language, I see a spirit and a man that has a heart.
Yesterday, I sat a little closer to him. He knows me now. I looked up at him today and smiled at him and softly nodded my head.
He nodded back.
He's my crazy Starbucks friend who says nothing to me every morning but in a strange way, almost checks in to see if I'm there.
And now I'm starting to realize, that sometimes people label others crazy, when someone doesn't look like them, talk like them, think like them. We label them unfortunate and underprivileged. Meanwhile, most of us head to a job we hate and go home to a neighborhood where we don't know our neighbors. My Starbucks friend talks to the birds and they seem to talk back. He has a higher level of connectedness with God than most. But he is unfortunate, right?
I watch him as he stretches his arms out towards the sky as if to do some kind of yoga that my undiagnosed ADD would never have patience for.
He seems happy.
He seems at peace.
My Starbucks friend is far more in tune with himself than any sane downtowner I know.
And although we'll never speak the same language,
And we may never sit exactly at the same table.
I understand him, and he understands me,
And you know,
That's not so crazy.
Rachel I love your ability to say so much in so few words. I have often wondered what goes on in the minds of the homeless, what has brought them to their current situation, who they were as children. Being too sensitive I try to walk past without looking, afraid to look into their eyes, not out of fear of what they could say or do but afraid to see something deeper. I want to help them all, give change to each one I encounter. Now I live in Germany and I don't see so many homeless people but there is one man who sleeps near the train station, who sells his paintings (paint splotches on styrofoam) and I wonder if he is happy, if he has chosen this life for himself.
ReplyDeleteThank you for acknowledging your Starbucks friend Rachel, I am sure he appreciates your smiles as much as we all do.
Moving...I too am one of those ppl who ignore the homeless. However I do so for different reasons. I worked with the homeless for years and see the numerous opportunities they are presented with...the attitudes of entitlement SOME of them have....I have even been taught, that by sitting at a particular corner u can earn over a grand. aday. Unfortunately ...I may continue to walk on by.
ReplyDeleteThank you both for your comments. and while you both have opposite feelings about the homeless, I understand both your perspectives.
ReplyDeleteHave a blessed day!
Living downtown, I also had to learn to walk down the street with blinders on just to get through the day but sometimes you can't help but notice what is really going on around you. I think it's great that you acknowledged this guy as a human being instead of ignoring him.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time you can't say that he is in tune with himself just because he sits there seemingly without a care in the world or even to assume that he remembers you from seeing you every day. From my many personal experiences with people who have different forms of mental illness I would have to say that you have no idea what is going on in his mind.
I'm not saying this to judge you personally, I just feel that observing a situation from a comfortable distance and making yourself ok with it by saying that you understand each other is something that many of us "priviledged" people do. It's one sided - he's not your friend.
One day if you feel comfortable enough, go a step further and talk to him, but don't have any expectations because it could be a good or bad experience.
BRAVO. Love your thoughtful and spirited look at the reality of everyday life.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI hear you when you say "he is not my friend"...if taken my words literally, then of course i recognize we do not have a friendship, I'm not that far gone.
Just because we don't speak, doesn't mean we dont understand eachother on a respect level..and thats good enough for me.
and frankly, i do think he's in touch with himself. I could be the crazy one, who knows.
But I do think, mental illness or not, He's in tune with nature and God.
And if taking medication is also going to take away his enlightenment, I also understand why some choose not to go on medication.
Just my two cents. But thank you for your comment, always respected, and makes me think.
Do u know Starbucks does not practice Fair trade and they exploit the farmers ! I would not buy at Starbucks!
ReplyDelete