Escaping The Whirlpool Of Homelessness
Only persistence manages to escape the gravitational force of attraction.
This morning, I decided to walk downtown to find the direction for my writing thoughts. I like to take long walks, especially where addictions and despair previously dragged me down.
I’m wary of the gravitational force of attraction from which I escape. Those places are a great source of inspiration. Even so, I must be careful not to walk on quicksand.
I observed the people rushing to work, taking sips of their coffee, speaking into their AirPods. Everyone in their own business, while other personalities wander on the street corners searching for cigarette butts.
I noticed how some of these street characters looked worn out, like sleepwalkers with reddish eyes and lifeless features. Sometimes still wrapped in a warm gray blanket provided by the nearest shelter.
Homelessness can suck the life and spirit of any human being that falls into that situation. I noticed that sometimes it is induced by mismanagement of addiction’s behavior, while other times it is life’s misfortune.
It can happen to anybody.
Something I noticed, too, is that their personality gradually changes. It could be an adaptation or perhaps an accommodation. The person gets used to the title, environment, and unique treatment.
They learn to hustle to survive no matter the background.
Standing on the corner, observing the situation, an individual approached me asking for a few dollars to get something to eat.
It’s a two-edged sword. I’m doing something good, or I’m an accomplice of his destruction. I felt that way because I asked for money before to continue drinking most of the time.
I got caught up in the whirlpool of alcohol and homelessness in the past.
Thank goodness I overcame it.
I suggested to the individual that there is a place serving free meals to the homeless not too far.
He made a face of discomfort.
“I know the food is not that great," I thought, " but hey… It’s something to get by for the day!”
I saw it like that so as not to starve, but the man wanted Macdonald’s for breakfast. Nothing wrong with that. At least, if I bought him food, I made sure he wouldn’t use the money to destroy his life.
Happy ending, we both had a breakfast platter, scrambled eggs and pancakes, sitting at the park. It was an excellent opportunity to give him a few words of hope; it turned out he had the microphone, and he wouldn't let me talk.
He began to tell me nonsense stories of his misfortune (maybe to touch my good side to get some cash.) “It’s the hustle man," he said. "the everyday hustle,”
I wanted to give him a few words of encouragement (instead of money), but sadly, some people have already deteriorated psychologically.
My heart began to burn with sadness. I gave the man a few dollars and said goodbye with an empathetic hug.
This situation reminds me of something I read from a newsletter from James Clear. A parable from Priest and Therapist Antony de Mello.
"A man found an eagle’s egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched with a brood of chickens and grew with them.
The eagle did what the barnyard chicks did all his life, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled, and he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air.
Years passed, and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.
The old eagle looked up in awe. “Who’s that?” he asked.
“That’s the eagle, the king of the birds,” said his neighbor. “He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth — we’re chickens.”
So the eagle lived and died as a chicken, for that’s what he thought he was.”
Source: Song of the Bird
Thoughts from my burning heart
There may be many difficulties in life, but that does not lead us to settle for less. Human beings are born equipped with everything necessary to survive and excel in life.
It takes a lot of persistence to escape the whirlpool of homelessness, but we have to fight to win the battles of this life.
And as human beings, who maintain a better standard of living, let's not hide our heads like the ostrich and ignore the problem of homelessness.
Let’s be kind!
Thanks for reading!
This installment of “FINDING NEW LIFE” is FREE for everyone; I send this email weekly. If you would like to receive it, *join my NEWSLETTER*
Discover more of my articles at MEDIUM.COM or visit my Quora Space.