I see something of God each hour of the Twenty-four, and each moment then, In the faces of men and women I see God, and in My own face in the glass, I find letters from God dropt in the street and every One is signed by God's name. -Walt Whitman

From "INVISIBLE ACTS OF POWER," by Caroline Myss:

Writes Michael W: "One evening in San Francisco, I walked along Van Ness Avenue among the usual assortment of people.I was heading towards a popular place where I planned to have dinner. As I neared the corner next to the restaurant's entrance, I saw two homeless men. One was middle-aged, sitting on the pavement.he looked filthy dirty. His face, his black-gray hair, and his beard were lined with dried sweat and dirt. His clothes were old, his eyes appeared glazed, unfocused, as if his mind was in another world.

In front of the entrance stood an older man, also in old clothes, but his were only moderately dirty, and he appeared calm and coherent. As I approached the restaurant, a young, very attractive couple walked out of the door.the beautiful young woman held a white Styrofoam take-out box in her hand. The older man stepped up to them, saying, 'Money for food?' The young woman extended the take-out box to the older man who immediately took the box and said very graciously, "Thank you. Thank you. God bless you."

He opened the box. There was half a meal left in it along with a plastic knife and fork. The older man used the knife to cut off the top of the box; he then pushed half the food into the box top, and placing the fork next to the food, the older man bent down to the other man and held the food in front of him. Very gently he said, "here, brother, here's something to eat."

The middle-aged man looked up dimly. The older man spoke again, very kindly. From far away, this man slowly began to come back. The older man waited patiently. Finally, when the middle-aged man seemed to understand, the older man said, "C'mon, brother, have something to eat." Numbly, the middle-aged man took the food, muttered, "Thanks." The older man picked up the other half, sat down next to the middle-aged man, and together they began to eat.

The homeless man's compassion and respect for someone worse of than himself is exquisite. When you realize that another person is starving for a serving of dignity, would you be able to walk away, having done nothing?