stepping on my soapbox for a bit

I don't always think about the big things - natural disasters, mass starvation, genocide, etc. because these are not part of my day to day life. I do my small part to help, whether it's writing checks to non-profit organizations, having money from my paycheck earmarked to go to specific non-profit organizations, or writing letters to politicians.

One thing I do on a somewhat regular basis is to help homeless people in small ways. I have some $1.00 McDonalds gift certificates, bottles of water and pamphlets published by the City of San Jose that list resources that help homeless people. When I see a homeless person at a gas station, convenience store, etc., I give these things to him/her. I used to do this out of self-righteousness; now I do this out of compassion. I still find it difficult to love everyone, however, my compassion for people has increased quite a bit in the last few months. I believe that compassion is close to love.