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.
[- Design and create your ideal life, don’t live it by default - DM on Discord @galenkp#9209 -]
I call them "enviro-bums". Apparently some of them are actually quite wealthy. Having grown up in Brisbane where this is not a thing, I say good on them. Watching them though still makes me want to gag.
with that name and picture I am going to assume Finnish background?
not at all. I just love black bears.
This guy didn't look wealthy from a financial standpoint but if happiness was a currency I think he was @ursa. :)
Being thankful for life. Its all about perspective right?
Those business people probably do think they have it rougher than the homeless guy sometimes.. as they rethink all the sources of stress in their lives and try to relate.
But it doesn't compare. Reminds me of the scene in the Matrix when Neo is with Morpheous in the "Lady in the Red Dress" scene and they are weaving in and out of business people completely oblivious to their presence. Where the homeless guy is Neo and Morpheous, unseen to normal people but sees everyone else and smiles.
That's a really great way to describe it actually... :)
Gratitude can make a huge difference in someone's outlook. There will always be people who have things better than us. There will also be those who are worse off than us. We need to be thankful for what we do have, or we'll always be unsatisfied.
I remember back in the early nineties there was a guy named catweasel who would do similar and sing and dance along. Perhaps they have a better life than most. Hard, but free.
Yep, Catweasel was a city-homeless icon. He's not around anymore.
Are you sure his name wasn't Catweazle? I have only heard of one person besides myself, a German, who spells it the way I do. Your gentleman was probably named because "You look just like Catweazle." I think that is also how the British wrestler got his name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catweazle
Trust me, I'm a doctor.
Not sure what his name was however everyone called him catweasel.
Those very same men and women wandering around in their powersuits are probably trying to devise a way to get more and more of their companies cans or bottles out to the street.
Those who feast upon the wastes of others will have a mine so great and expansive, they never need to worry about being granted additional mining or exploration licences, they just bide their time and wait.
Nicely put.
A former employer of mine used to sometimes send us to volunteer at a cafe for the homeless during times when we were orherwise not engaged.
I did it a few times. An eye opener the first couple of times, but it starts to wear thin on the patience when you realise that some of them are assholes
But one thing that is evident, is that many of them are in the position they're in as a result of some quite often severe mental health issues.
They usually had case workers present keeping tabs on most of them...