Day 4:
Today, an older fellow with limb difference was out begging, when streets are near-empty. I got him soft foods (he has more gum than teeth), then sat with him so he could give me the prayer that means so much for some folks in poverty.
But *his* prayer involves a line that breaks my heart every time I hear it from him; he recites to himself often that he knows he's less important than everyone else.
This isn't true--but it gives him comfort, explains why he suffers. My heart, my heart.
I was condensing, but he more specifically said that he was less important than me, and the other people who pass him on the street and pay him no heed.
Not true, but it's a rationalization that seems to help him cope with the daily throng passing by and not giving aid, or even seeing him as human. How much more unbearable life might be, to think of oneself as every bit as worthy as those who pass by, but not be treated as such.
@MLClark
Depends on how you look at it. I can see how EVERYONE is "less important" than "everyone else".