The State of Things

So today I realised that I'm a total idiot. Okay, not really, I'm just such an optimist I tend to overlook more obvious explanations.
That statement (and this entire post) comes about from an experience I had on Henry Street today.
After Jonathan and his friend left to return to London I spent a lot of time walking around downtown and sort of just doing my own thing because it was SUCH a beautiful day. The sun was out in full force so I was in a T-shirt and jeans and there were buskers everywhere.

Then I saw this beggar on the side of the road and he was shivering and I can't tell you how much I pitied him. I said to myself "if he's still there when I get out of Tesco I am marching straight into Penny's and buying a blanket for him."
Okay, now how many of you just thought "wasn't it a warm day?" Well yeah...totally didn't occur to me at the time (and sadly he wasn't there when I came back so I couldn't get him the blanket anyway). But do you really expect my first reaction (even on a hot day) to be 'this guy is going through heroin withdrawal.' I don't think it should be.
So I may be an idiot, but I'm really glad I am because (in this case) it means I just expect the best from people.

Also, on another slightly related note - literally 10 minutes later I saw a boy who couldn't have been 7 years old yet sitting on the side of the road with a rosary around his neck and one of the most defeated facial expressions I've ever seen. Isn't it tragic that in a developed nation we have little boys living on the streets and begging for money?
So then I thought "I wish I was rich so that I could take care of children like him." Which made think of the song "Sparrow" from Simon and Garfunkel. In particular the following verse:

Who will take pity in his heart,
And who will feed a starving sparrow?
"Not I," said the Golden Wheat,
"I would if I could but I cannot I know,
I need all my grain to prosper and grow."

Suddenly the "if I was rich" excuse just doesn't seem to cut it, because I may not have a lot but I have more than him and that means I have more than I need. Every single person reading this does. So what do we do with the little that we have? Do we sit there thinking we need it all and don't have any to spare or do we get up and use it to help someone?

I think the answer is obvious.