At a crossroads sat a 'beggar'. He was talking to himself about the people rushing by. He was very skinny and had long grey hair. I felt like talking to him. He seemed so isolated in the face of so many people who were not interested in him. At the same time, I experienced him as "lost in himself", so that it seemed artificial to talk to him. What could I say?
On the way back, I passed him again. In the meantime he had stood up. A cup for money stood next to him. He looked calmly and somehow radiantly at the people walking past him. This was my second chance! I took it and threw a euro into his cup. Then I looked at him and said, "Thank you for looking so cheerful!" He looked at me and replied, "Thanks the same!" At this he smiled. A simple encounter, a moment of eternity.
