His odor reached me before he did and tickled my nose, but I fought to react, not wanting to seem rude. I knew he needed not to be reminded of his stench. His grimy, mangled hair made me wonder why he even bothered keeping it. Yet, just as this thought came to mind, I realized just how unjust I was to have thought it- to dispose of something merely because it is unclean and uncared for. Then I wondered how decent it would look with a simple washing.

I didn't need to hear his words to know what he was asking for. I didn't need to know his story to feel sympathetic. I simply knew that I had what he was in need of, so I acted commiserately. I reached in my pocket for some money and felt some bills in my hand. I covertly peaked at

the one I had in between my fingers and noticed that it was a five dollar bill. I hesitated. I returned to feeling for something that I told myself I could better afford. After several seconds of fumbling for a dollar bill, I looked up to find that it was too late; he had already passed me by.

We horde our money, believing that there can never be enough to satisfy our unsatiable desires. We tell ourselves that if someone has to be left out, so be it, but we'll be damned if it would be us. We are more content keeping our money as a large number of digits, stored somewhere safe in a computer, than reduce that amount and have that money work for the better of the world. When will we realize that there is enough food, enough money, enough everything for everyone to share and prosper?

My encounter with this homeless man on the train brought to light how our global problem of poverty can be healed. Just as I became conscious of my mistake, so should there be a global consciousness.

Even then I could have justified my actions, but instead I ended up trying to j

Some common words found in the essay are:
, five dollars, dollar bill,
Approximate Word count = 739
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)