The Man Who Changed the World
As I exited the subway tunnel, there was a man in the stairwell. He sat in the shadows, with his hat laid out upon the ground. As I approached him, I noticed his fingerless hands poking out from beneath his grey overcoat. He sat with his face to the ground. The few rays of light that managed to reach him, coming from the top of the stairwell, shined off of his badly burned and hairless head. As people passed him, they kept there distance. I squatted down in front of him, and placed some money into the old hat. His head slowly lifted, till his blood filled eyes found their way to mine. Until this moment, I had never stared into the eyes of true pain. Even though I did not speak his language, I told him in an even tone, “you are my brother, and you are important to me.” I opened my hand and placed it before him. He appeared reluctant as his hands hesitated to touch mine. He was not capable of facial expressions, do to the severe scarring, but the look in his eyes said, “Are you sure?” I reached out and took his hands into mine, never once loosing eye contact with him. With both of his hands sandwiched between mine I told him,” I see you.” With this I meant that, beyond name and form, I see the human that exists before me. His hands felt like soft plastic, but beneath I could feel the warmth and energy of a person. Suddenly, I saw life fill his body. The shared moment between us both, became more valuable and real than anything I could have dropped into his duct tape covered hat. The only words he could say was” thank you, thank you,” over and over. When it was I, who should have been thanking him. Thank you, for putting life into perspective for me in a way that no book or class ever could. Thank you for enduring this and not giving up. You are my teacher! I rose to my feet, and met Marla at the top of the stairs. She was trembling. Her eyes were full of tears and her face full of pain. She was crying uncontrollably and I soon joined her in that state of pain. We spent the next hour in tears. The paths of our lives took a turn this day. Never again will we be able to take for-granted the things we have. Forever, we have lost permission to dwell in self-pity over our petty problems. From this point on, the face of true suffering will be imprinted and carried with us, in our minds. The face of the man who changed the world.
