I had a meeting in the CBD today and was running early. I decided to sit in one of the parks and watch the world go by whilst waiting for my client. It was a nice interlude from what was otherwise a reasonably busy day and I watched the world go about its business. As you can imagine the passersby were from all walks of life but were mainly suited office workers going about their day giving little heed to anything but their own thoughts and destinations. Most were stern-faced and focused and others wore a non-committal expression giving nothing away. One guy stood out from the rest though.
I watched this particular guy struggle with several bags of different varieties; Some plastic, a couple fabric and one very old sports bag like the type a person would take to the gym. All were shabby and dirty. The man himself was hunched, dishevelled and certainly no cleaner than the bags he toted around. His clothing seemed to mirror his eclectic choice of bags with nothing matching, and certainly nothing even close to current fashion.
The guy was making his way from bin to bin with his bags and poking around in each one using a long stick with a hooked end. He'd rummage around in the bin and occasionally his hooked stick would emerge with a can or bottle on the end. He'd take it from the hook, up-end it into the bin to make sure it was empty and then bag it up in one of his many bags before continuing to rummage in the bin. Once satisfied there was no more cans to harvest he'd move on to the next bin and start the process again.
I watched him move from bin to bin and was struck by how happy he looked. On his journey from one bin to the next he'd smile, not at anyone in particular, but just in general. No one smiled back. He'd simply move along smiling and once at the next bin would fossick inside for cans and then move on. In case you are wondering what he was doing, here in Australia there is a 5 to 10 cent deposit on cans and glass drinking containers when purchased. If the can or glass bottle is returned to a recycling station the deposit is paid to the person returning the can. image source
I assume the man is a homeless person, yes, even in little old Adelaide we have them. I don't know the statistics but there's quite a few from what I can tell. He was collecting the cans for the deposits as a means to generate some income, a hard way to do it for sure.
Before too long I had to move away for my appointment however I couldn't get the image of the man from my mind the suited business people. They didn't seem as happy as the homeless guy.
It made me think that happiness is truly a state of mind and that despite a person's circumstance, with the right perspective, one's attitude can be what ever one chooses. Maybe the homeless man felt fortunate that he had the ability to move about freely when he compared himself to a wheel-chair bound person. Maybe he was smiling because of the bounteous harvest he was reaping from the trash cans or maybe he was simply happy to be doing his bit for the betterment of the environment. I'll never know.
The power of gratitude is undeniable and I have wondered since seeing the trash can guy this afternoon if the businessmen and women hustling about the city today took the time to show gratitude for the harvest they reaped today. Again, I'll never know.
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