Bad luck or bad decisions

So I was thinking of some of my English speaking friends and I wanted to dedicate this to them cuz I want the blog to also get to them and English speaking people in general. I'll try to translate my last entry here on the blog, but don't be too harsh on me... my first language is Spanish. So, here we go...


It's nine and a half in the morning and I'm standing in the metro as I usually do every day. I have my earphones on playing my favorite music; I like to specially put them when I go to the metro. I'm inside my own world, as if I don't have a care in the world (or at least pretending). I cant hear people chattering, or the woman on the metro announcing the next metro station, or the man next to me sniffing. Nothing.

The doors open in one of the stations to let new passengers in, and I couldn't help but notice a very old woman coming in. She was covered in plenty of fabrics, only letting her right leg out. It was covered as if she had a plaster (is that the right name?). Anyways, she was injured. In one hand she was holding her walking stick, and on the other hand she held a plastic cup with just a couple of coins inside it. I still couldn't hear a thing, but I was able to imagine the sound as she was bouncing it around. It was the sound of her begging for money.

I started looking at the face of everyone that was there in my same wagon as me, which by the way was crowded. I saw no shame in their faces, no compassion, and of course no one giving any money to this old woman. I was wondering if they, like me, were pretending not to care or if they in fact put on a sort of armor on every day to get in the metro, because this sort of things would usually happen. You know, like me using my earphones. Well, this is no place for the weak.

I was feeling frustrated for not being able to help, so I started thinking of various possibilities. Such as:

-If I had to (or wanted to) help all this people that begs for money every single day in the metro or even outside, I wouldn't even have any money left for breakfast. Or the rent...

-If I don't help them all, but only choose to help a few, which one would it be? I mean, they all have tragic stories...

-I wonder if the government has tried to help them (maybe not with the crisis). And if they do, would they take the help? Or they prefer begging around. This may sound a little crazy, but I actually have heard some stories like that. Or at least in Venezuela. They say they make more money like this.

-And also, were these stories even truth? Im sure many are but I've also heard that many of them lie. Although, if you choose to help them and they are lying to your face, shame on them! not on you.

Sadly, I didn't have an answer for any of these questions. All I could do that day was beg "God, please look after this people, cuz maybe society wont"

When I finished my sort of prayer, another man begging comes in. I didn't listen to his sad story either. The moment that he turned around to see me, right before our eyes met, I closed mines. I felt a tear inside them right when I closed them. They stood like that for a while.

I felt frustrated not to be able to help and I couldn't help but wonder what sort of events lead this people to this kind of life. Was it bad luck? Or just way too many bad decisions.

On one hand, I don't entirely believe in bad luck, but on the other hand, who can take THAT many bad decisions as to deserve that? I don't think that anyone could deserve this. Have they done something terribly bad in the past? Im not even sure that I believe in Karma. And if they didn't do anything wrong, whose to say what their destiny should be like?

I mean, what sort of circumstances can lead you to this? To not having anyone like a family to come to in times of need, to not having good physical conditions like for taking a job. Bad governments, bad decisions, bad society. Whose fault is it? We can't blame it all on the governments and how they run the country... we ARE part of it. Is it no ones fault maybe? Should every person take responsibility on the own lives? Or is the government a huge part of molding our destinies?

Just wanted to leave you with this in mind and I'd very much like to hear whats your say in this. Do you believe in bad luck or bad decisions? Neither? Then talk about it.

Til next time...

Bye then!