A Plate of Chicken

I went to my old neighborhood food stall for dinner last night while waiting for my cleaning lady to be ready to come over.

As I sat and tucked into my food, I noticed an elderly man - a construction work by the looks of his mud-caked boots, dining on a plate of roti canai (the Malaysian version of pancake), drenched in curry gravy and a cup of tea. He was trying to get the attention of the waiter, and as he did, he pulled out about 3 dollars from his shirt pocket.

Something about the looks of him and his dinner made me look at my own plate - chicken vindaloo, cauliflower pakora and beancurd. It also made me recall the tally on the spending I had done during the day on Christmas gifts, clothes and food. 

As I continued eating, I battled with the thought of 1) flagging the waiter over and telling him to put the Uncle's bill on my tab and 2) ordering him a plate of meat. I looked around - folks around me were eating hearty plates of food, teenagers using the shop's free Wi-Fi to surf on their laptops, iPads and iPods; so much excesses when among us sat a old man who should be seeing better days at this stage of his life.

I should have done what I wanted to do WITHOUT HESITATION. Didn't the Camino teach me that life and living is in each and every moment? Didn't we, on our journey, see an interesting sight - stop to take it all in? Didn't we, on our journey, strike up conversations with total strangers without a thought of what others would think of us?

As I finished up and so did the Uncle (and he cleaned the plate of the last drop of gravy), I said to myself - Heck care what the others think and called the waiter over. Turned out, dinner was on the house courtesy of the cook. So I asked him to bring the Uncle a plate of meat of the Uncle's choosing. And in that instance, while the waiter asked the Uncle what he wanted, I realised that while I may have completed my Camino 6 months ago, I still have much to learn.

For I should not have waited. Uncle should have enjoyed his chicken vindaloo (hey we have the same taste) with his roti canai - not after.

But I walked away knowing that while I still have much to learn - I am learning. The imagine of Uncle enjoying each and every piece of chicken will, if not for anything else, close my year with a smile on my face and warmth in my heart.

As we wind down the Advent season (Today being the 4th and last Sunday of Advent), let us remember those who have less than and carry that remembrance into action. And let us also remember that it should just be Christmas in December, but Christmas everyday in our lives - just as Christ lives in us each and every day.