Working in the city you see a lot of homeless people begging for change at busy intersections. Some people avoid eye contact at all costs and practically peel out the split second the traffic light turns green, some people empathize and hand over a couple bucks when they can.

I was thinking this morning, on the way to my job as a salesperson, we’re not so different. We both have a process that involves putting ourselves in the spotlight and asking people for money. We’re both casting a wide net and reeling in whatever sticks.

I’m not glamorizing begging on the street corner by any means; it takes guts to go out there day after day, dealing with people yelling obscenities and treating them like they’re subhuman. Sure, they’re not contributing to society in that moment but you don’t know their story.

Everyone has a story. One couple I see on a regular basis say they’re recovering from a house fire where they lost everything. Most regular people are only a small streak of bad luck away from being in the same boat.

So many things contribute to your situation in life. Maybe it’s untreated mental illness, maybe it’s addiction, maybe it’s one of a million other things. As a former addict, I can confidently say people don’t fall into physical dependence on a substance because they just want to party all the time. No one’s homeless because they “just don’t wanna work anymore.”

Life is brutal sometimes. They’re doing what they can to stay in it.