Why CHOCOLATE is GOOD for the HEART

So I was on my way to work, walking (the only exercise I get to do), when I saw an elderly woman scavenging a pile of trash. I have already walked past her, because admittedly I have become one of those people that have gotten so used to seeing such extreme poverty and can turn a blind eye & justify it with the phrase "I pity them, but that's life, we all have our own problems to deal with." (and no I'm not proud of that), but this time something made me stop and look back.

Maybe it's the way she was hungrily licking an empty gravy cup that was inside a box of what has been a Chickenjoy Meal (now empty of course). It saddens me, really. It also makes me guilty - sometimes I complain about the food I eat, sometimes wasting it - while here's a woman, probably the same age as my mother, whose main course is the roadside trash.

I remember that I have a few bite-sized chocolate candies. I rifled through my bag... Only three pieces. Better than none. I approached the poor lady.

She was still licking her hands and the gravy cup, I said "Excuse me po,"

She looked up with unfocused eyes, and I handed her the candies and said "Gusto niyo po ng chocolates? (Do you want these candies?)".

And I would never forget this - her eyes lit up, like a child seeing a toy she likes, and she said "wooooow, salamat... (wow, thank you)" as she took the chocolates.

I smiled at her and walked again (because if I stay a few minutes more I will be late for work, and I have to pay the penalty again). I know that three pieces of candies won't change her life, it's nothing as compared to what other good samaritans share, but for me, it's a start. Something stirred inside my cold heart, and it may sound cheesy, but seeing the lady's face as she was inspecting her candies, and hearing her say "salamat" in such a way that you would think I gave her a million pesos - it made my day. It actually gave me goosebumps. I was smiling while I was walking, then I remembered, those candies will make her thirsty. I wish I brought a bottle of water. -_-

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I know I can't help everyone. I can't even help myself. But helping that lady felt so good, that deep inside, I know from this day on, I won't be as cold-hearted. I do help people more often than not, but I have grown disillusioned with our society, and mankind in fact, that I just shut off what I see around me. Maybe someday, I could be more useful, more worthy to society. Right now, all I could do is give bits and pieces of what I have to people who may need it, at the same time, be angry at our government and the 1% for obvious reasons.

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