sunshine and social commodity.

This week, Chris Martin from Coldplay visited the Bowery Mission. In case you don't know, the Bowery is a shelter as well as a transformational program for men and women to move out of homelessness. There's so much I could write about what happened, but truly my favorite part was just the simple humanity of it all.

The Bowery Mission is the great equalizer of life.

I have the honor of working with all sorts of people, from all walks of life. Believe it or not, there is not a type for those experiencing homelessness. It can affect anybody, at any time. And when someone like Chris Martin walks through the door, this doesn't shift. People remain who they are, where they are.

But there's an exchange that takes place when people gather in this manner, a collaboration of spirits that cannot be labeled by fame or power. There is no helper and helped, there is no us and them.

It's just love, given and received without a price.

The only expectation is that you bring yourself, as you are.

You see, when Chris came, he brought with him everything he was, in as simple a way as possible. But because of who he was, with his music and his words and his connection to the world, he brought many people joy.

And the people in the community, those experiencing homelessness, they brought everything they were, in as simple a way as possible. They brought their history and their hard earned wisdom, their faith and their hope.

And they brought Chris Martin joy.

They each had social commodity that they could sell but they chose to lend it instead.

In a world where people are trying to get ahead and money rules the market, we forget that some of the most influential moments in life happen because someone decided to lend out their social commodity.

Someone decided to share the gift of connection, and it didn't matter if that person was more or less, what mattered is that they became equal.

Equal in compassion, equal in friendship.

Equal in joy.

I think sometimes we become fearful of connection, either because we feel we have nothing to give or because we don't want to spend everything we have. We don't want to lose our commodity, we don't want to come up broke.

But the truth is that the more you spend the more you receive. This is the oldest wisdom in the book. It doesn't matter how much money you have, or how many people you know--if you are alone, you are broke.

And if you hoard your social commodity, it will turn up tarnished and rusty and diminished in its beauty.

Our lives are richer when we share what we have, whatever it is. It's hard and it can be uncomfortable and it may even be out of our usual routine.

But when we do, it can change everything.

It can take people coming from an experience of homelessness and place them next to one of the most influential and well-known musicians in the world.

And it can take one of the most influential and well-known musicians in the world and put them right in the middle of a shelter.

And this moment, it doesn't matter if you are from the hills or the valleys, we are all on level plane.

The same sun shining out of our souls.

And this is what it means to be alive.

This is what brings us meaning and purpose and....

Joy.

Our worlds get a little brighter.

And a little bigger.

And our hearts do the same.

So.

In this new year, if you have a chance to spread your social commodity only a bit farther...

Just do it.

You won't regret it.

And I think you'll find that the more you give the more you can receive.

Add a little more value to the world.

We need your sunshine yet.