Letting people be who they are

You may see him from time to time, wandering down State Street, always dressed in the heaviest clothing - even on the hottest summer’s day. He has long been a mainstay in downtown Bristol.

This man and I are lifetime friends. We graduated high school together as classmates once upon a time.

Some may say this man is not “doing the best he can”. It can be easy for us to think we know how other people should best live their lives. We are so certain that we “know” these things. Yet extremely blessed are we when we find out later that we don’t know so much as we thought.

When we think of people who live different lifestyles than we, we can be prone to think, “Why does that person want to live like that? Why don’t they change?”

Please don’t feel sorry for this man. (Although if you happen to pass him on the street, he’ll duly and truly appreciate a friendly ‘Hello’). He just is who he is. And what more can any one of us do, than to be who we are?