THE HOMELESS PARADOX
I am sure that by now each one of us has seen a video where a guy asks for a slice of pizza at a restaurant and no one gives him, and then goes straight to a homeless to whom they have previously offered a pizza, and when he asks him for a slice, he is much more OK with sharing.
The problem is that the way this is being delivered and interpreted does not match what is actually happening. The homeless that technically has nothing and when he has he shares, and the ‘common person’ that we assume has more because is paying for her own pizza, is not whiling to share.
If I offered you a pizza, assuming you are not homeless, how likely would you be OK with sharing it, or even giving it all away for free? In another hand if you just got out of your job, decided to have pizza today, considering you are not rich, gave it some thought between the pizza you really wanted and the best deal for money, after waiting in line, finally sitting after a long day, how likely are you to share it with a stranger?
You see the homeless is not necessarily more generous, the choice of sharing was simply easier under the circumstances. When you are given, you are more likely to want to give. The person in the restaurant didn’t get her slices for free so she would have to be extra generous to share her slice, that in which case should be the true inspiring moment recorded and shared.
It is easy to assume that if you pay for your own food you have more than a homeless, but how likely would it be that a person in the pizzeria that has paid for her pizza has less than the homeless? (consider debts, mortgages and late bills)
The difference between the homeless and this last person is that the homeless has given up on life at some point and became comfortable with sharing how poor and unfortunate he is. You could never help that last person because she is still trying. Working two jobs while studding even if you have washed clothes and a roof above you is still harder than staying outside looking through the trash, in fact it is because it is so incredibly hard that they are begging for money instead of working for it. It was a choice. There are millions of people nowadays without legs that became Paralympics champions and world class speakers and best selling writers. People that went through dark times with alcohol and drugs and came up above. It is never, EVER too late. The only moment it will be over for any of us is the moment we decide so. It is not the conditions, it is not the people, the money or the government. It is a choice, that WE make every single day to make our lives better to keep going and to keep pushing till it gets easier.
The homeless don’t represent a problem of economy in the country but a problem of motivation. These people don’t need money, they need encouragement. We all need at some point. When we are not self motivated we need external words of encouragement, inspiring stories, faith and hope. Because if we don’t believe in ourselves long enough to see the results, we will eventually give up.
DON’T GIVE UP.
