I woke up this morning; I went through my daily routine, packed my lunch, and then rushed out the door into the chilly winter morning air. Before leaving, I debated about what I would look like if I wore my hiking boots with my dress pants. Would I look alright? I packed my black dress shoes in my bag, and moved out the door–wearing the boots, even though I looked ridiculous.

When I got to the bus stop, I had a few minutes. I ran across the street to the local Dunkin Donuts and decided (though I’m trying to reduce caffeine intake), that I would grab a coffee before getting on the bus. I paid the young woman at the counter nearly $2 for a coffee that I would inevitably find to be too sweet (as they always are at Dunkin Donuts).When I got on the bus, I started sifting through the apps on my iPhone, as to ensure that no personal connection with those around me would be happening. I stopped myself for a fleeting moment and thought about this, and said, “I really ought to put this away and be more present,” but fewer than two minutes later, I was reading Twitter posts and Facebook status updates.
Finally, when I was jostled back to reality at a bus stop on my route, I looked down at the man sitting across from me and realized that there was a large hole in the front of his right shoe. I was careful not to stare, and stole glances from time to time for the duration of the trip. The sole had separated from the toe-box; beneath the black synthetic material, I could see that the man had wrapped his foot in a white plastic garbage bag.

I looked up and watched as he smiled gazing out the front bus window. How could this man be smiling? I asked myself. The snow on the ground in the walk-ways was at least two inches deep, and this man had a plastic bag on his foot. How unfortunate. How completely aggravated I became at my earlier internal dialogue about looking foolish wearing boots with my dress pants. How pretentious I must look, and to be quite honest–feel, as I thumbed away on my iPhone and sipped on my $2 cup of coffee. How quickly I count my blessings, yet cast aside the misfortune of others and forget about how truly fortunate I really am. How forgetful I often am about such inequities amongst myself and neighbors.

Maybe tomorrow will be a different day. Maybe tomorrow, I’ll try not to forget.