City by the Bay

Although it got off to a bit of a rocky start, over all I would say it was a successful day. I woke up to Brit knocking on my door, asking me if I was awake and would be ready to go to the airport shortly. Now there's a switch for you - one of my girls waking me up when I've over slept in the morning! :-) I must have slept through my 4:30 am alarm and by the time she woke me up it was too late to shower. I finished packing in a rush, threw on my clothes and we were out the door. It wasn't until I was sitting on the plane that I realized I had forgotten my badge and a few other things.
The flight to San Francisco was great and I was actually able to sleep for a good portion of the flight (again, something new for me!). The cab driver informed me that I was very lucky to come into town today, the weather was the best it had been for awhile and it truly was gorgeous. Sunny, warm, with a nice breeze off the bay.
Although I always enjoy coming to SF, I had what I considered an "uncomfortable" schedule of meetings. Unlike my previous roles, this particular job is basically a task-manager role and lacks the passion and drive I normally have. And the meetings today were pretty much centered around those tasks... a marketing director that would be supporting a letter and email campaign I initiated, a VP of analysis that would provide the stats and analytics for a pilot, and lastly a presentation to my EVP's leadership team.
I enjoyed the 2 1/2 mile walk to the office from my hotel and was once again reminded why I love this city. Of all of the cities I have visited, SF was by far the best walking city and there was no end to the interesting people you see, the incredible architecture. I anticipated my walk to and from the office being the high point of the day. But as usual, life surprised me. My first two meetings were great and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I had some time prior to my presentation, so I stopped by to visit my old team and was greeted with warm hugs. As much as I pride myself on being independent and keeping my emotional distance from business colleagues, this reminded me just how special the people are at my company. And I missed being on and having a team.
After visiting for awhile, I made my way back to Kearny Street to present at the leadership meeting. I knew about half of the 20 SVPs and VPs in the room, including my boss. The presentation seemed to go very well and I received some great emails after - including one from my boss' boss. :-)
But here is where the day gets interesting. About a year ago I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and decided that I would not eat all of my meals in my room while traveling on business. The first few times I ate at a restaurant by myself it was very uncomfortable. I had to find things to look at or do to preoccupy myself - playing with my blackberry, reviewing my to-do list. NowI've learned to just sit, relax, and enjoy my meal and my surroundings when out. Of course, I talk big but the funny thing is I've only pushed my comfort zone just so far... for example, when in SF, I eat out, but it's always at the same restaurant - Cheesecake Factory at the top of Macy's, overlooking Union Square.
Well, on my way into Macy's, I caught sight of a homeless man on his knees, praying. If you've been to SF, you know that there are a lot of homeless on the sidewalks, with signs asking for money, begging, or wandering around aimlessly, most likely victims of mental disorders or drug addictions. As with the poverty in other countries, it almost becomes too much to handle. I feel helpless and powerless, and these are people in my backyard. So I'm guilty of doing what most everyone does - I ignore them. I struggle to "excuse" homelessness - in the past I've judged them - lazy, drug addicts, alcoholics. All things to me that are within someone's control. Sometimes I move away with an irrational fear,scared at times that they may come towards me. But this man on his knees tonight caught my attention. I wondered what he was praying, if he was really praying, and did he have faith in God despite his situation?
The reality of the condition of the people on the street distracted me throughout dinner and as I looked at my plate of food, that was enough to feed at least two people, I couldn't help but feel guilty. At the same time, I thanked God for all of the blessings He has given to me. It seemed small and inconsequential, but I decided to take the rest of my food to go and give it to the man praying out front. I wanted him to know God heard him. However, when I walked out, he was gone but it didn't take me long to find another man. He was older, perhaps in his 60s, with a sign asking for help. He had kind eyes and a sad pride about him. I walked straight up to him, looked him in the eye, and asked "are you hungry, sir?". "Yes, ma'am, I am" he said softly "very hungry". I gave him the bag, telling him it wasn't much but it was warm and fresh. "God bless you" he whispered.
As I walked back to the hotel, I was overcome with emotion. I'm not sure where it came from, but this small interaction moved me. It was such a small act of kindness, it took no time and no money. I gave him food that hundreds of time before I would have just discarded. It made no difference to me how he ended up on the street or what he had done in the past. All that mattered was I was able to make a difference in his life. And in turn, he made a difference in mine.