A scraggy and scruffy man knocked on the door every weekend. His ask? A few morsels of food for his workday.
His task was unenviable, perhaps even pitiable. Cleaning all the public toilets and septic tanks within his catchment area.
The lady at the door would oblige. Always providing him a decent meal. And also giving him some money to take care of his daughter’s education.
It became fairly obvious that some of this money was being used by him to buy cheap alcohol and get intoxicated.
While others objected with the usual, “He’s not putting the money to good use!”, the lady was firm in her decision to continue her dole outs.
Her rationale? “It is so difficult to even clean one’s own toilet. Here is a man who has to clean 100s of toilets, and that too of others. It is his job yes, but at least he’s doing it well. Maybe the alcohol gets him into a state where he is at least partially unaffected by the stench.”
It is easy to think for ourselves, but often impossible to put ourselves in other’s shoes.
The lady was my wife’s mother. She passed too early. But her life’s actions continue to inspire and live on.