smiles are free

homeless people make me so sad. i get upset sometimes when i see homeless in canada because technically we have a good welfare system that helps those in need, they just chose to be really bad with the help they get. regardless of whether or not it’s their fault for living on the streets, it’s always hard for me to just walk by without feeling remorse for those people. the worst is when they are homeless and old, or homeless with a dog, then my heart just breaks in half. whenever i visit l.a. i make a point of always leaving some extra food when i go out to eat and drop it off for those poor souls down at the beach. i’m not sure if the united states even has (have?) a welfare system, some war veterans are struggling to get by (compare this with the canadian treatement of their veterans) that much i know. where do you draw the line? when you stop helping? how do you decide to give a dollar to one and not to another (think mexico and those poor little girls running around selling bead bracelets for $1, how can you buy it from one child and not the rest and feel like you made any kind of difference, especially seeing the conditions they live in). and then again how can you live with yourself if you just simply chose to ignore it. i feel even worse for homeless animals. if i could i would take in every stray and adopt every old, wrinkly grandma and granpa there is out there in need of help. i have such a soft spot for them. i started thinking about this today after i passed a homeless man on the street who was yelling ‘smiles are free’ at the passers by . he is right, we don’t all have to donate our precious, hard earned money, but it doesn’t cost us anything to recognize them as people in need of affection and warmth, a smile, instead of all this indifference can go a long way. maybe it can make you feel better too 🙂