In Melbourne, we have a large market. It is called the Victoria Market, centrally located and open on most days. It offers food, clothing and the usual variety of things found at such venues. It also has an interesting history in its own right, and for many homeless people it provides shelter from the cold and wet nights that are not so unusual for Melbourne.
It is also a place where, at times, homeless people will gather after the market is closed to re-kindle friendships and to socialise. Often they support one another in ways that could be envied by us more ‘ordinary’ folk and ‘sharing’ is one thing that they are good at. I am not singing the praises of homelessness, for it is a hard life and demands resilience from those often finding themselves in that position without having some ‘blameworthy’ cause attached to them.
But I digress.
Finding myself at a loose end one afternoon in the recent past I made my way around that part of Melbourne to see what changes had occurred. Melbourne seems to be changing continually; new buildings arising from the past, buildings of significance lost and replaced with the latest in apartment-style living and accommodation.
So there I was, standing in Victoria Street within easy walking distance from the gardens. It was late afternoon, traffic was crawling along and people of all sorts were making their way home or maybe visiting other venues. I can only speculate as to the many places that occupied the myriad of drivers and others at this time.
Suddenly a Yellow Cab taxi pulled in right next to me. I know that I had not flagged a taxi down and there was no one else in the vicinity. Being the curious me that I am I waited and watched.
A gentleman, now politely referred to as of being of ‘Middle Eastern’ extraction got out from behind the driver’s seat and quickly made his way to the rear of the taxi, opening the boot. From there appeared a much loved prayer carpet, which he handled with great care.
We saw each other, and he noticed me looking at his carpet. We smiled at one another and with open hands gave each other universally accepted signs of peace and welcome.
He then moved onto the footpath, unrolled his mat and making sure that he was facing the appropriate direction looked at me again. I smiled, gave him the thumbs up and positioned myself in such a way that he knew that I was watching both him, his taxi and all other passing traffic and passers-by. It was no big deal, he prayed as he would have in his home. There was no threat, no fear in the air.
He spent some time at his devotions, oblivious to the comings and goings of the world. For those minutes there was peace and harmony in one little place on one tiny planet.
Having finished his prayers, whilst still on his knees, he carefully rolled up his carpet and looked at me again, smiling. Smiles being contagious, I smiled back.
In an untroubled routine probably acquired over some period of time he returned the carpet to its own little haven of the car. He turned to me, and without saying a single word he gave me a ‘thumbs up’ in return.
Now it may be in the interest of some to plant hatred and fear among ordinary people, to create a division among us that does not exist.
I rather stand guard over a brother human being at prayer than buy into that fear and loathing. Though not required to guard anyone that night, sharing that moment with another human being was precious enough.
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Thank you for sharing a heartwarming moment. A little ray of sunshine in my heart.
You are right, we all bleed.
Good stuff.
And we would see a lot more of that if we got rid of the global financial system that makes us think of others as rivals or competitors and ultimately, enemies.
Had the same experience some years back,
Was still working in the Adelaide Fire Brigade then. At the beginning of a night shift we had been very busy at a couple of car accidents and a house fire. Having dealt with all of those we were very hungry, so stopped off at a small set of shops that included a pizza business.
Whilst the crew went into the shop to order our meals, I stayed in the fire truck to keep an ear to the communication devices in case we received further fire calls.
In the fire truck in the rear lane of the shops I noticed an access door of the pizza shop open and out came a gentleman carrying a rolled up mat. He laid the mat out, removed his shoes, and spent the next 5 or 10 minutes deep in reflection, or prayer.
Once he was finished he reversed the process, looked towards me and we gave each other a “thumbs up”. I offered him thanks for preparing our food, and he offered me thanks for protecting community. Respect between two humans doing an important activity.
Surely it can’t be very hard for people of different cultures, genders, etc to respect each other?