by Chris Stubbs

Created on: December 22, 2009   Last Updated: December 23, 2009

I learned from a homeless person.

Homeless people do not have anything intrinsically different than someone with a home. It is the social stigma that separates a homeless lifestyle from that which is socially acceptable. You'll find that, in a homeless shelter, being homeless becomes another struggle that does nothing but fade away into a harmony of background frustrations. The struggles range from a lack of interpersonal relationships to a lack in the belief that one can be independent. People in shelters often lack the creativity or initiative to even believe there is something that would be better than being homeless. There is the lingering hope that one day life will be better, but majority of the time, life is not better because of who they are and the choices they make. Is this so much different than the reasons our economy is recovering from it’s struggle?

I see a homeless person, and also witness the ideals and behaviors that created him. I see the failure to communicate. The lack in personal hygiene shows a poor self image. The poor self image proves a general ignorance of the way things could easily be with a little American shift in consciousness. I also know that people change, and I witness the passion that burns a homeless person until they are clear of those ideals that nearly destroy them. I've seen no difference in my middle class lifestyle.

The difference between a homeless person, and someone with a warm bed, is that the bed of the homeless person bed has become warm enough. The reason that a person becomes homeless is the same reason that people work dead-end jobs and retire with practically nothing. It is the failure to recognize the principals of abundance. They have failed only because they have never even conceived of living on more than enough to go around. Working a hard 40 has become so socially acceptable, than when a person takes that risk and looses their job, they are considered a victim of the economy. I see a homeless person and I know that he strives for a prize so small that he will yearn to be impoverished should he accomplish his goals.

I am considered a homeless man. What I have learned from me is that I have no purpose, but a slow comfortable death, should I strive for mere financial productivity. I want to create. I want to change the world for the better, and I do not desire to be anything like those that have come before me. Making excuses for my failures is the legacy they have left me, and I boldly refuse to accept. I am homeless because I have chosen this place as a transition to something new. I hope that the few accomplishments I make are seen as proof than anyone can overcome, not only homelessness, but the social norms that have created us.

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