I have had people ask me why i keep doing this when it is near impossible to really change anything.....
If I didn't, who would take my place? To be truly honest though; it is about love. Everyone wants love in their lives and I am no different than anyone else in that regard. I have come to a point in my life in which I hope that every moment can be filled with love. It is not that I lack that in any way at all. I have an amazing wife who loves me in ways I could only have imagined before I met her, a beautiful young boy who does the same and an amazing family. Part of having love in your life, in every moment, means many moments of giving love as well. You receive back what you give, correct?
It is partially the same reasons that I dearly love my job in wedding photography. I consider myself blessed to do the job that I do simply because I get to spend days with couples and their families during times where more love is shown than almost any other...and I get to record the memories of every step. It is always my hope that every moment captured will be a reminder to those that see them, many years down the road, of the love that was shared on that day and never let it fade away. I truly love my job!
So going back to the gentleman in the beginning that I spoke of, the one who passed away on the bench; I often wonder who loved him, who he loved, did he even have love in his life at all, from anyone during the last days of his life? I hope he did but I also know from my own experiences with many others living on the streets that he probably did not. There are many others and they need us. In many cases, one of the main reasons they ended up where they are is a lack of love in their life. I'm not speaking of the love of a husband or wife. The love of people in general, the actual caring for them and compassion for their journey in life, no matter how broken it may be...this is the love that counts. This is what helps them along and, in the long run, helps us in amazing ways as well.
I keep doing this because, I believe, it is something we all should do. I keep doing this because I desperately want my child to grow up with a compassionate heart and a love for his fellow man. I keep doing this because I have faith that somewhere, someone may read this, may meet one of the people I encounter or someone new all together and be driven to show the same love and compassion....and begin a journey of their very own.