The Blind Side

I watched The Blind Side tonight and was, as so many others have been, incredibly moved by it.

(Yes I cried. All of you who thought there was a chance I wouldn't, raise your hands....)

There was a persistent theme that stayed with me through the walk back to the hotel. Do we open our wallets because it's easier than opening our hearts? Is that our blind side?

I'm not for a moment proposing that we all go in search of someone in need of a home, take them in and "save" them from their life. It's not possible for all of us to do what the Tuohys did.

But we can do some of what they did. The education, the clothes, the home were all happy secondary benefits from their hearts being opened to a young man who had been ignored, passed over and forgotten.

How many times do we pass people on the street and look away rather than look them in the eye? How many times do we drop a few coins in a cup or a hat but don't utter a word to the person we're giving them to? It's as though we're happy enough to give away our money but don't ask us to connect with the person.

Charity is not just the benevolent donation of money, the latin word caritas is actually defined as unlimited loving-kindness towards all others.

But the donation of money is easier for us than the donation of kindness. It requires much less of who we are to write a cheque or drop a few coins than it does to spend time with someone.

If we truly want to be charitable to others, look them in the eye, smile at them - as trite as that sounds - touch them, acknowledge them. For some - be they homeless or colleagues or friends - it may be the only acknowledgement they receive. So many people feel invisible and so many are invisible to us that by recognizing their presence we shine a light on them and on ourselves.

And when there is complete illumination, there are no blind sides.