The luxury of choice?

This morning at the SSVP clothing room, as I was unpacking a bag of donated women's clothing, Henry, one of our homeless guys, came and asked me for some toothpaste. One thing I've learned about the homeless is that they don't ask for much because they don't want to have to carry unnecessary stuff around with them (for example, Henry also asked if he could come back when it gets cold, because he doesn't actually need a winter coat until then). I know that when Henry asks for a tube of toothpaste, he really needs it, so I went back to the room where the toiletries are kept and stood in front of the toothpaste shelf for a minute, wondering what kind of toothpaste Henry might like. Colgate Total with Whitening? Crest Anti-plaque? Sensodyne Fresh Mint? Aquafresh Extreme Clean? Aware that Henry was waiting for me, I closed my eyes and grabbed a box. When I returned and handed it to him, he didn't even look at it. "Thanks," he said, and headed out the door.

I went back to my unpacking, finding six identical shirts in six different colours, two still bearing their sales tags, and I wondered about whether it really is a luxury to have to pick from among so many brands of toothpaste, and so many colours of clothing.