I was surprised at how much they offered me, but I guess gold was at an all time high. Although I was happy with the price they offered, I was still reluctant... I told the elderly man who was helping me that it was my mother's necklace and it had great sentimental value for me. He shook his head in understanding and said, "Ahhhh, yes.... memories." Then he puts his arms on the counter and leans into me as if to tell me something in great confidence, and says, "Listen... take the money, you obviously need it or you wouldn't be selling something that has such special memories and sentimental value for you - And then the next time you pass a homeless person on the street who's in need, give them $5 and tell them it's a gift from your mother."
I was so taken by his response, his kindness and his higher awareness, that it really struck my heart. My eyes were welling up with tears but I held them back until I left the store and then I let it go..... but it wasn't out of sadness that I cried, I cried because my heart had just been opened up a little bit wider by a stranger who offered such clarity in his words of wisdom, they could not have been more perfect for the moment if they had been scripted for a movie.
Later that day I went to Trader Joe's to get some orange juice and bagels and I saw a homeless man sitting outside with his dog. I asked him if I could offer him some money, and he said, "Yes sir, I'm open for business 24/7." I handed him $5 and his eyes lit up wild with excitement like a little kid on Christmas morning. He held the money up to the sky to show God and blurted out, "Thank you, thank you, thank you", then he looked at me and said, "You got no idea what this means to me." I smiled and said, "Oh, I think I do."
I told him the money wasn't really from me, that this was a gift from my mother. That I had received some money earlier today from my mother and this was a gift from her. He suddenly got very quiet and looked at the $5 bill for a moment, as he turned it over from one side to the other while contemplating, then he looked up at me with eyes fully present and told me, "I haven't seen my mother in over 30 years, and the last thing she said to me was on her death bed, she said... Boy, don't you shed a single solitary tear for me when I'm gone. Everyday of my miserable sordid life has been a gift and I don't regret a single day. And when someone gives you a gift, you give thanks from the bottom of your heart for what you have received cuz every gift is a treasure no matter how big or how small.... She was a good mother-fucker that woman, and obviously, so is your mother. So mister, I thank your mother for this wonderful gift and for giving me another day in this crazy-ass loony bin!"
