Khalil

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” 
-- Khalil Gibran

Every morning this week as I drive into school, I have been seeing this homeless man and I have been giving him $2 each time. I can't help it. It is something I have always done since I was a teenager. And while I knew when I was a kid, that half the time I would be probably aiding an addiction...I just couldn't help but be optimistic. And while I have found myself jaded as I have gone through medical school and I have seen homeless people in the ED suffering from alcohol withdrawal...I still can't help it. I think about all the patients I have seen that come into the ED pretending to be in withdrawal so they could get some food, or the people who used to be high functioning individuals and their disease (alcoholism) has destroyed their lives. Today when I went to give this same guy $2 as I waited for the red light of my highway exit he said to me : "You know, you're the reason I have eaten this whole week and I interviewed for a job because I wasn't hungry...thank you." And I thought of the quote at the top and smiled.