Tag: homelessness

In Service to All.

“It’s their choice,” he said to me. “With all of the resources available, how could it be any other way?”

We’d been talking about the homeless population in a neighboring district and the sudden surge of those seemingly destitute.

I was offended, at first – as, who are we to qualify their need? And, who are we to justify the reasonability of their response?

The truth is, we don’t ever fully know the context of another’s story, nor can we dare to presume a ‘mile in their shoes’.

Each of us walks our own separate path, my loves. And, each of us must yield to the experiences of that journey.

Though, how easily we derive the essence of man through the aperture of a momentary glance.

Perhaps, we’re concealing an aspect of our own fear. That is to say, the resignation that we alone can’t possibly make a difference.

Oh, but we surely can, my loves. For in the course of a single passing moment, we can extend a hand and offer hope; we can alleviate the burden of our fellow man.

What we fail to realize it that a simple kindness can go a very long way. It can encourage those who are stuck in a desperately solitary space.

And, haven’t we all been ‘stuck’ at times? Trapped by the compilation of story and condition.

You see, we are not so different after all. Rather, our ‘prisons’ are forged by a multitude of other things.

And, for that matter, what makes their ‘walls’ any worse off than ours? In the end, don’t they cause the same sort of impact?

We are not here to judge, my darlings. We are here to offer our heart in service.

This is my simple belief. Together, we can and will make a difference.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

The Gift of Our Awareness.

I was shocked by this image the other day; three young woman, not a care in this world, taking photos nearest a man in desperate need.

While they paraded about in their Louboutins, this dear man cowered without shoes.

What’s going on in this world today, when we can so easily turn away from another’s pleadings?

As I look more closely at this picture, I wonder – do they even see him there? Or, is it that they’ve deemed his audience unworthy. Certainly, not enough to ‘spoil the shot’ – nor, grave enough to dampen their smile.

And then, my heart pauses for a moment to reflect – I wonder what that old man is feeling?

It draws to mind a conversation I once had with a homeless man on the streets of Washington D.C. Naively, I presumed, “The winters must be the hardest part.”

To which he replied, “Not even close. Feeling invisible is.”

I think sometimes, it’s easier to walk past. After all, how can we change an entire life in a single day?

But, what we fail to realize is something much more profound – that is, a simple kindness can go a long, long way.

To share a warm beverage on a cold winter’s day…or, an overcoat to help with the winds?

Though, perhaps the greatest gift we might ever provide – is that of our simple presence.

Author, Wallace Stegner once said, ““Home is a notion that only nations of the homeless fully appreciate and, only the uprooted can comprehend.”

I think it’s potentially much more than that. As, perhaps within these faces we recognize the shadows of our own deepest fears.

And, though we may not be able to change a whole world in one day – at the very least, we can give a man a pair of shoes.