David Brooks: Building Spiritual Capital:
Lisa Miller is a professor of psychology and education at Columbia University. One day she entered a subway car and saw that half of it was crowded but the other half was empty, except for a homeless man who had some fast food on his lap and who was screaming at anybody who came close.
At one stop, a grandmother and granddaughter, about 8, entered the car. They were elegantly dressed, wearing pastel dresses and gloves with lace trim. The homeless man spotted them and screamed, “Hey! Do you want to sit with me?” They looked at each other, nodded and replied in unison, “Thank you” and, unlike everybody else, sat directly next to him.
The man offered them some chicken from his bag. They looked at each other and nodded and said, “No, thank you.” The homeless man offered several more times, and each time they nodded to each other and gave the same polite answer. Finally, the homeless man was calmed, and they all sat contentedly in their seats.
Yes!!! Thank you for a wonderful start to Friday, David! Inspiring indeed. Cher xo
It is. Thanks Cher.
Amen. Her conduct also illustrated to the others the choice of engagement, use of discernment & extension of love & seeing a person as a fellow human not their action.. I will take the time to read some reviews of David Brooks and Lisa Miller’s book(s) ..treasured nuggets of grace, beauty and wisdom I am sure…
Yes…
Beautifully written!
Quite often people don’t do what’s right in a situation like that, out of fear more than anything else. The grandmother was very brave and the granddaughter trusted in her judgement.
Yes, fear is easier to avoid than stepping into the eye of uncertainty.
Awesome!
“When did we do it to you, Lord? When you did it to the least of my brothers.”
Christ makes but two commands of us: Love God and love your neighbor. If you do the first the second easily follows. In this instance, both commands are written on the hearts of all three.
Obviously, the two girls saw Christ present in that man.
-Alan
They saw, and believed Alan. Yes.
Love this Dave. I recently watched a documentary on monkeys and how most, including chimps cannot tolerate strangers. Bonobos do tolerate strangers though, just like humans. 🙂 We have the capacity to do so and I hope more will just like the grandmother and granddaughter in your story. <3
Diana xo
Yes Diana. Agree. Amygdala running amok.
Wish more people could set that example…the world would be a much happier place.
Yes!
Alan A. Malizia, I like what you said. I agree. Extension of Love, to HIS Honor.
A beautiful example of compassion. It isn’t always easy to know how to approach these situations.
Yes, agree with THAT Karen.
What a wonderful life lesson for the child. I wonder if the grandmother would have done that by herself. I know that being with children brings out the best in me.
Love this post David!
Yes, thank you Val.
This resonates with me specifically as we celebrated my nephew’s high school graduation yesterday. Seeing those bright, young, eager faces, hearing about their achievements, the possibilities—I feel so hopeful. I also recognize the great responsibility I have as an adult, to be an example. Only with deep reflection have I fully begun to appreciate how much my actions affect others (and what they say about me). I want to think I would do as the grandmother and her granddaughter did in the same or similar situation. They say hindsight is 20/20. Maybe hindsight exists as a sort of preparation or training for future opportunities.
I lingered on this for a while Carolann: “Only with deep reflection have I fully begun to appreciate how much my actions affect others (and what they say about me).” Me too. Me too.