RE: Today, a stranger touched my life...

Having taken the opportunity to really listen to Jamie, I now believe that if you feel drawn enough to give someone money, then it's definitely worth taking the time to open your heart and listen to their story if they are wanting to share it. If he had expressed any discomfort in chatting with me then I would have let him be... Because I usually have my kids with me and so many people on the street do have addiction issues, I have tended not to engage with them, rightly or wrongly. As you know my boys were born into the chaos of that lifestyle and suffered incredibly because of it... Their birth family was literally ripped apart from underneath them. Now I am thinking... you know what... they are old enough... and we can suss pretty quickly whether something is going to be productive or not, so let them see the struggles that some people have, let them see real life, and understand the cause and effect of the flow... and open their hearts now to compassion and engagement, and at the same time learn to spot when to be more cautious. !LUV