Last week I met up with my colleague Doug, and we took a walk up Connecticut Avenue towards Cleveland Park to grab lunch — as part of our regular Tuesday afternoon get-togethers.

It was a beautiful spring day — the tulips were in bloom, the sun was shining – and we took our time walking to our lunch spot. We each had an hour break, and it felt good to catch up with Doug.

In the six months or so since I met him in my office building’s mailroom, I’d gotten to know Doug pretty well. I found him insightful, compassionate and genuinely interested in learning about me and my background. I imagined that he was an excellent therapist.

On our walk, as we passed a string of restaurants and shops, Doug stopped briefly as we came upon a homeless man in front of the Bank of America building to give him a smile and a friendly fist bump. The man returned the smile and said hello; he seemed pleased to see Doug, as if they knew each other.

I must admit here that I had seen that same homeless many times on previous walks through Cleveland Park and had never made more than cursory eye contact with him (similar to most other passersby), so I was struck by Doug’s act of kindness.

After lunch, in which we talked some about the challenges of being a therapist — and Doug had some very good insight — we passed by the bank again and there was the same man. This time, Doug discreetly slipped a dollar bill into the man’s hand and patted him on the shoulder, in a way that reminded me of a diner giving a maitre d’ money for a good table.

The man hadn’t asked either of us for money and wasn’t holding a cup for spare change. Doug voluntarily gave it to him.

For the second time in less than an hour, I was struck by Doug’s act of kindness. This time I was mostly taken with the way in which he did it — respectful and dignified.

It seemed that Doug didn’t want to call attention to the man’s circumstances or to the help he was giving him. Maybe the man was too proud to ask for money. Maybe he had been turned down too many times.

By the time we walked back to our offices that afternoon I not only re-affirmed that Doug was a top-notch therapist but an even better human being. I’m proud to say that I know Doug and hope I can duplicate some of the humanity I saw that day.