I started to think of it a bit differently before I stepped off the bus. I mean, yes, the guy was obviously experiencing mental illness. But... he saw something that others labeled as trash, picked it up, created something he valued with it, and then valued me (a stranger) enough to give it to me. He probably didn't have much else, but he wanted to still give me something. My eyes fill with tears when I think about this... that he valued what others didn't and then saw something in me to pass it on.
It leads me to ask, "How often do we do this to people? How often do we discard others and assume they're nothing when there is something of value that can be seen in them?" I'm not laughing now, and I'm not looking down at him either. I see the value in what he offered, and that bracelet will go in the box with the rest of my jewelry. I can just ask that we take the time to value what we have or even take the effort to see the value in those people and things that others might so casually discard.
Theresa Weaver lives with her service partner, a black Lab named Palance, in Indianapolis.
