“I want to commit suicide today. But thanks to you, wonderful girl, I no longer want to commit suicide. I thank you."
Casey Fisher, a college student, meets a homeless person asking for money for a cup of coffee. When she saw this person, she felt an urge in her heart that she had to talk to him:
“When I went to Dunkin' Donuts, I saw a homeless person sitting on the sidewalk counting every penny. A few minutes later I saw him enter the shop. When he was counting money to buy coffee, I approached him to talk but he really didn't want to talk to me. He had only a penny and a few cents, I gave him money for coffee and bread, and I asked him to sit down at the table with me. He said, people often get angry with me because I am homeless. His life was not easy: his mother died of cancer, his father had it as well, he was addicted… He couldn't stand the person he was in now."
What is your name?
Miss Casey asked for his name. Something that seems trivial but is really important: asking a person's name is to prove to them that they are real in their eyes. Feeling that you exist is the most basic thing to feel loved. Because it is in our hearts that all we seek is to find love.
Casey Fischer told her story to Chris on her Facebook page. She recalled the strange feeling that prompted her to talk to him and she posted a picture of him: “This lovely man is named Chris and he is one of the most outspoken and sincere men. I have never met. After learning that I had to go to class, he wrote me something on a piece of paper. He apologized for his shaky handwriting, then he handed me the wrinkled receipt, smiled, and left. I read his words and this is what it says: “I want to commit suicide today. But thanks to you, wonderful girl, I no longer want to commit suicide. I thank you."
A lesson of life
This is a lesson we must learn over and over again: our kindness to one another changes everything, it can change everything. We don't realize how important it is when we pay attention to others, it reminds us, we are all the same. We all need attention, no matter what our physical circumstances.
As Pope Francis said on July 6, 2015: “So many people feel excluded from family holidays, marginalized, hoping 'in despair' to one day find some love!”
Translated by Marta An Nguyen
“I want to commit suicide today. But thanks to you, wonderful girl, I no longer want to commit suicide. I thank you."
Translated by Marta An Nguyen