Street People @ MindSay 
-- I'm looking for a good book (or two, or hell, three) to read. I know SOMEONE on here is a bibliophile and can recommend something to me.
-- The parade today made me cry for 2 reasons. First, because when I see this old men in their uniforms, I'm forced to think of how much they risked so that other people could have what was deemed a better life. I am not a fan of war, but I'm more against the bureaucratic decisions to GO to war than I am the men and women who follow orders and fight for millions of people they've never met. I absolutely support TROOPS. I also cried because of the low turn-out, related to reason one. These brave people put so much on the line, actually risked their lives for us or are doing so currently, and I'd say less than 100 people managed to give up 20 minutes of their day to come out and say "hey, thanks for doing that".
-- The odds of me being given a pink slip on June 1st are about 99.99 to .01. Sucks. You know the situation is dire if even TEACHERS aren't guaranteed a job next year :(.
-- It's finally warmish up here; not what I want (I would be happy if it was 90 every day, and then December it dipped down to...67 (with some snow every few years), but it's warm, and I'm so much happier with it.
-- I took my mom to go see Star Trek today. I do not go see movies in the theater, but I felt compelled to go out and spend money and pretend to be normal, and I never really liked Star Trek, but enjoyed the movie a lot. More than I thought I would. Go see it.
-- I went for a 5-mile walk yesterday, and it was absolutely awesome. I walked to the high school for 2.22 miles, around the track twice, and then back home. It was the first time since getting the warning on Friday morning that I haven't thought about the fact that I'm probably going to be let go. I just put my iPod on low and worked up a good sweat (definitely never realized how steep North Street is because I've never walked up it before) and cleared my head. Realized that if I work at camp this summer, I could EASILY leave at 7:45 and walking, get there by 8:30 if not earlier. I'd leave earlier than that because I'm insane, and then I'd already be sweaty to start a full day working at camp, but it's totally doable.
-- Speaking of camp ... is it really 10 months today, Sammy? Did we really lose you 10 months ago today? That can't be possible; that doesn't feel real. I think about you every day; absolutely every day, if not more than once each day. When the clock says 8:13, it reminds me of you. When I hear Incubus or Kenny Chesney or Dierks Bentley on the radio, I close my eyes and float back to our trips on the bus. People quote Napoleon Dynamite all around me, but none of them bring a smile to my face the way you did when you'd ask me if the chickens had large talons.
Sometimes, I think about how unfair it is that we had so little time together. We were friends right away, and you were so welcoming of me even though I was brand new and you were working with people you grew up with. I always admired your heart and your spirit and your smile, and I wish we'd gotten to know each other even better. I wish I had reached out and overcome some shyness and approached you after our summer together was done. I hate the fact that I'll never get to (at least, not on Earth). I love that I can't shake you, though. That I'm constantly reminded of you, that you're all around me, and that THAT knowledge pushes me to stay connected to others. You inspired all of these letters I've been writing, Sam. Maybe one day I'll get brave and write you one. But in the spirit of not letting people slip away, I'm going to go call Lisa.
I was getting my haircut tonight and the lady shrieked and got a tissue and wiped my neck. Apparently she accidentally cut me, but I didn't even feel it which was weird.
Then after, I went across the street to get some profiteroles a lovely French dessert that I hadn't tried yet.
On my way back, I had to cross the street. I had five seconds left to cross the street and I made a decision and jumped in the street. The car in the right hand lane was not moving and did not have their signal on. But as soon as I jumped in the street they started moving (even though I was right at the corner). Luckily they saw me at the last second. OR ELSE I COULD BE DEAD!!! GEEE!!!! I hate it when people don't use their signal. I guess I should be more careful about crossing in the future too. I usually make eye-contact with drivers if I'm walking, but then again, I didn't know he planned to turn (I think he really wanted to run someone over).
So anyway, I come home. And I look in the mirror. Man, the cut on my neck looks like vampire bites!! How did I not feel it at all. There are like two red marks. Ha. ha. Well, so the neck injury isn't a near death experience, but whatever. I thought I'd include it in the story. I rubbed coconut oil on it, because it is supposed to heal stuff like that. We'll see!
Lack of comments speak to two different things. First, it could be the kind of thing that really causes people deep reflection on what has been said. It may even have some incredibly challenging perspectives that are difficult to swallow. Second, there could be a great deal of disagreement or even fear - although I certainly hope it is not the latter.
It was said to me that the comment by another user about the wounded warrior entry wasn't judgmental. If it is seen that I have singled that person out, then the point of the article is missed. Human-beings are judgmental by design - it's what we do. It even goes by different names. Discernment is having good judgment. To perceive is to sense and make sense of information, again an exercise of judgment is occuring. In writing my article and stating my observations, I too am exercising judgment. This isn't about pointing a finger at someone and saying, "na na nana na!" It's about seeing more!
Initially, in my response article Haven't You Learned Anything? I begin by saying the comment didn't sit well with me. That can mean many number of things. I go on to explain. I speak of how a simple statement is a broad brush-stroke and I agreed it does take some longer to learn. I also wanted to offer much more - a deeper and wider perspective. This is what the blog-entry is about.
I know some people who've been on the street and I know some people who are still on the street. I know what has happened in my own life and I know how close I came to being on the street. Society, the coddled members, are much more comfortable distancing themselves from responsibility for creating the messes we have in society. Instead, it is easier to point fingers and blame the individual who landed where they are. Some of the street people are there by choice, in order to be free from the shit we live in society. Others are there because they can't fight anymore. We could look at every segment of our populace and find out how easy it is and how much more comfortable it is to keep your head buried in the sand.
You see, people are quick to make assumptions about WHY things are the way they are. Laying blame on the person who is scratching the pavement looking for a rock is the easy way out. There is nothing in society that doesn't exist that isn't the cause of mankind --- not one man: It's our society, it's our rules of engagment, it's our rules of competition, politics, and free enterprise. There are many who don't care about the damage they create to get where they want to go. This was the motivation for writing Haven't You Learned Anything? and this follow-up.
Even last night, the movie Thank-you For Smoking inspired more thoughts on our FREEDOM of choice and instead of accepting the responsibility, so many of us in society point a finger and lay the blame. Interesting isn't it? Drugs, Cigarettes, Booze, Guns, Sex, Rock and Roll, Dieting, the foods we eat, the food that's packaged, the pesticides used, the trees burned and clear-cut, the environment wasted.... it's all their fault. None of it is mine. None of it is yours. I had no say in the matter. I didn't know any better. They tricked me with their media advertising. My parents smoked too. I didn't stand a chance. Neither did you.
In other words, I don't have a problem with what the comment said that responded to the wounded warrior. I had a problem with what it didn't say and that quite often, society will opt for the easy answer - the one that abdicates responsibility. Articles like this are a call for more social responsibility. Is that not clear in what I've written? We are at choice, we all have an impact, with words, thoughts, and actions.
On another blog, I received a response to my entry about the wounded warrior that didn't sit very well with me. Here is my wounded warrior entry:
The wounded warrior doesn't lose his edge, he gains another. The new edge is the edge of reconciliation, of empathy, of understanding, and of valuing life. Do not let anyone minimalize the wounds you have earned, that you have gained understanding from, and from which you have grown to love more humankind. Neither let yourself suffer from arrogance, or any form of grandiose thinking of any kind; remain the humble servant who understands more than they let on.
The response caused a moment of pause as I reflected yet again upon the judgment they placed with their opinion. Through such a comment and how it may or may not apply; our broad brush-strokes are so quick to color every encounter, every person, and every lesson to be the same. What was said is not far different from what many people believe. What was said also can be completely true for many people. However, it is not applicable to all who suffer. Here is the commonly held belief posted in their response:
Ideally, those are the lessons one would learn. But everyone has their own journey and some make it harder than it should be. They must learn their lessons the hard way and it takes much longer. It depends on what level of understanding one has reached.
Everyone does have their own journey and some individuals do make it harder than it has to be. Some wish to make it easier and do not seem able to lessen the severity. Some people are fast learners, others are slow learners. Some learn best by reading, others learn best by doing, and yet more need to hear the words that will help them learn. The poor individual who is going through hell and back who would read that they're a complete loser for "not getting it" sooner. And yet, my immediate heartfelt thoughts upon reading the reply highlights an even more profound statement for the wounded warrior. What about the greats in our history who have suffered greatly?
My first hero, Gandhi, was the first to come to mind when I read that some make it harder, and that a lesson must be learned. I've had a similar discussion around the homeless issues as well. All things serve a greater purpose and it is so easy for us to judge from the perspective that others "just aren't getting it" and we can wash our hands of all responsibility to see change occur in our society. Gandhi put himself into harms way repeatedly. Gandhi, through all the situations that deepened his wounds saw his heart for God, his heart for his people, and his heart for the world grow. Gandhi did not shrink from the cup chosen for him, neither did many other great leaders no longer with us today. You know who some of them are. So who needs to learn the lesson?
A wounded warrior did not come to fight with violence, fists, and bloodshed - unless it is his own and even then it is not a prefered avenue. The wounded warrior values life and typically in higher regard than the common everyday man. Gandhi, my friend, my example: What lesson did you make harder to learn? To walk away from conflict? To walk away from injustice? That one man cannot change the world? No, no, I didn't think so. I see it myself and it is what I want all to see.
If I choose to make my life harder, if I choose to be the change I want to see, if drastic action is called for to have society witness its' failings, then so be it. How can I possibly communicate clearly to others that which I cannot understand? I have understood much about the human condition, society, our frailties, hopes, fears, and dreams; our relationship to each other, how it has shifted over time and continues to shift; how the media clouds our vision, politicians and religious leaders influence our beliefs, interpreting the signs of the times and literally telling us the cause and effect relationship that requires change. We've become such amazingly obedient sheep for our shepherds.
We follow along, we point fingers, we lay blame, we act the victim, and almost literally only take care of our own personal agenda and insular sphere of influence. The rest of the world, the rest of the country, the rest of the government, the rest of the community, the rest of the street... and so on... can go to hell, I've got enough to deal with on my own! Sound familiar? I've heard these standard statements often throughout my life. Even so, the influences that sing in my heart are laid by the examples of such as Jesus, Gandhi, JFK, Martin Luther King, just to name a small few. Check carefully before concluding that someone isn't learning a lesson. Maybe they're trying to show the rest of the world something that society has created, or that people are ignoring, etc.
This brings me back to one of my favorite issues related to society washing their hands - the homeless. I have even heard it said by spiritual and/or religious people that the homeless chose their lot, made their bed, and therefore must suffer the consequences. In the same way, some would say they're on the street learning a lesson. What I know is that there are many on the street who have chosen to leave the monstrosity of the rat-race - that truth and love is virtually non-existent in the corporate setting, or the business machinations of what is our society today. I know that some of these people are there, and the problem is growing, because the rest of society has failed to act! The issue isn't about providing shelters, food, and treatment programs. The issue is about a systemic problem with the way we get along, the way we work together, the way we compete, and the way we judge, hate, segregate, and so on. It's strictly about the heart.
Yesterday, a very new and dear friend of mine got on his own high horse ranting about the problem with the street people in a very bad area of our city. "Give them what they want and what they need," he lamented! Very curious I continued to press him for more explanation. I don't remember all that he said but let me sum it up as best I can.
Giving these people a city-block facility with housing, treatment, counselling, injection sites, dispensed substances, etc., would free up a great deal of resources chasing them all over town trying to police, intervene, and treat the problem. You give them a place to go, provide them with clean and safe substances and the opportunity to make a different choice. Those that make the different choice have access to treatment, counselling, and shelter. If they fall, they fall, and they're given the opportunity to try again. At least then there is a chance, there is no judgment, and we would no longer be de-humanizing ourselves in the process!
That is not a perspective I could have vocalized in such a powerful way before. I concur completely with our responsibility and failings as a society to resolve what seem to be such fundamentally simple issues - at the heart level. Why so many walk past the problems and are so completely unaffected has bothered and puzzled me for years. Until he finished his statement recognizing the de-humanization of the general public any reasoning I heard or tried left a sour taste. Of course! We have systematically seen the dehumnization of our culture consistently through news, media, television, movies, video games, and our own streets. Is it all bad? Likely not, it is a contributor though, along with our ability to make a judgment that places full responsibility somewhere else.
With so much said I'll wrap it up with a few statements of encouragement. Accept the journey others are on, be curious, ask questions, and park your judgment. As Martin Luther said, I have a dream. As JFK said, ask what you can do for your country. As Gandhi said, be the change you want to be. As Jesus said, love covers a multitude of sins. Be love, love is. If this was the guiding principle behind government, business, and our community, how many different outcomes would have seen a world shaping into something far more beautiful than we thought possible?
This is a first draft.... it may need some tweaking.
Also, do leave a note: Say HI, say good article, say hard to swallow... some interaction would be nice. :)
So it's about 2:30 in the morning when Cal finally gets back from 'street racing', and we start to drift off, when Cal's phone rings. We were both wondering who the hell would call this early/late. Cal picked it up and I could hear the sobs at the other end of the phone, my favorite friend of Cal's, Kellen, got severely beaten in front of people that he called "friends".
A lot of the people were drunk, but there were only two people actually beating on him, a guy I don't know, and his ex-girlfriend. WTH!
It would make me upset to type the whole thing, but it was bad, and now I hear he's sleeping and moving out from his apartment with the guys that completely betrayed him. Nobody should have to fear returning to the place they call home.
My faith in humanity is at an all-time low.
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