This past Sunday started off as most Sundays - I snuck out of bed, made a coffee and read a little while Mike + Willie continued to snooze. Right on schedule, everyone was up and at 'em and we were heading out the door for our walk.
A young man was sitting outside our door on a nearby bench. It was obvious something was off - it was early, the grocery store didn't open for some time, and he had his head down. Seeing someone else check in on him, we continued on our walk.
An hour later we made the turn towards home….and he was still sitting there. Head down towards the ground.
We approached and asked him if he needed anything. He raised his head and opened his eye. I say eye because his right eye was swollen shut. In his sweet Irish accent, he said, Thank you very much, but I'm ok…"
It was obvious he was not ok. Swollen eye, cuts, dirty shirt. This poor guy was in rough shape.
As we entered our building, my eyes welled with tears - he's far from home and clearly in trouble.
One of the principles of igolu is Your Body is Innately Intelligent. While my rational mind was telling me to leave him alone as he said he was ok, my body was screaming DO something!
Making him a coffee, grabbing an ice pack + bottle of water, Mike went back downstairs to see what he really needed.
Five minutes later, Mike was up to get the car key.
Turns out Peter's phone + bank card were missing, he'd only been in the city 24 hours and wasn't entirely sure how to get back to where he was staying. Mike drove him back, gave him his business card and told him to call if he needed anything at all.
I haven't been able to stop thinking about Peter all week. We've intentionally headed toward where he's staying to see if we "bump" into him. Is he ok? Did he get in touch with his friends? Does he have money?
You see, we're all human. We are all beings on this planet doing the best we can. Sometimes, something shitty happens. We may not get jumped + have our shit stolen, yet we need someone to recognize something isn't right.
We all need to look up every once in a while, notice our fellow man requires a little love + light and BE the one that ignites it.
Every day I am faced with the opportunity to be who I say I am. It comes in many forms, and I can choose to ignore it, or remain in integrity, face my fear and step up.
I can allow my mind take me out, or I can listen to my body, my fail-safe guide and create a different outcome for myself and another.
I believe this is why we are here - to connect, create a world where we are for each other.
How are you connecting?
xo, Tracy