Thanksgiving... Life on the Streets 2019

Gratitude... A Life on the Streets

Thanksgiving 2019

And the tradition continues.... another day of a life

on the street for another Thanksgiving.

Spending the day with a stack of books, unless I am

able to find some place to Volunteer, but this is the time of year

that is overflowing with volunteers making up for the rest

of the year of them letting it go by the wayside

, so if I cannot find a plce to volunteer (which is something I have

done throughout my life, not just the decades outside and through the

Holidays, as well, if help is needed and not filled) reading

in the park, walking through and in Nature and counting my Blessings.

A tradition I never once dreamed would be my life, of

living on the streets, has become my very existence.

But counting my Blessings has become a staple of life,

every moment of it. Reading in the park on the Holidays is

another tradition, because everything is closed, volunteering is

over-filled, and I have nowhere or place to go or be...

so reading makes the time go by quickly, and I

do not have to think about life.

Just take in the smells, listen to nature's orchestra

and feel grateful just to BE in the moment,

surrounded by the Beauty of Nature and all

Her Gifts the animals bring to my heart.

I have much to be Grateful for, which I

keep having to redirect my focus on, otherwise,

life takes hold and reality smashes into

my face and the circumstance I have been

forced to endure decade after decade.

Some things I am Grateful for;

- Having access to clean water to drink
- Having access to restrooms to cleanup in, change and 
wash my hair in the icy cold water from the sink
- Being literate and able to read and write with proficiency
- Having the means to do laundry when I need to
- Having clothes to wear
- Having a body that continues to hold me up
- Having many in Law Enforcement on my side
- Receiving Help that have been treasured gifts
- Being able to Communicate in a variety of ways
- Having a good, portable toothbrush
- Being able to make great coffee without a coffeemaker
- Being able to volunteer to work with animals

These are just a few things I am deeply, truly Grateful for.

Many other things come to mind of what I am Grateful

for. And I count Blessing after Blessing throughout the day

and it keeps me pressing on to face another day without

a home. But Purpose and Meaning have Eclipsed my life.

What are the lessons I am supposed to learn being

forced to live outside, without a home, indefinitely?

Whatever the lessons are suppose to be,

it is not something I have been able to cull

from. How do you draw a meaningful and

purposeful life when you are forced into a

circumstance not of your choosing and

you lose youself in the process?

And while I will never be Grateful for being forced from my home

by and through the illegal actions of a despicable landlord,

living on the streets teaches you about Life in the very

literal sense;

You learn how to be resilent and how to use what you have

all around you, while improvising every moment of every day and

all through the night. Street life teaches you how to persevre

through the worst (of) what life throws at you, and all you experience

and face with life without the comfort and security of a home.

There is no way to prepare for and nothing prepares you

for street life, even when fully immersed in it.

But the Gratitude stems from what I have learned

and how to become while living on the street;

The strength that has come forth that I never knew

was there, learning how to quickly adapt to

anything and everything that comes my way, or I am

forced to endure, how to let go and move on and

keep moving forward.

The Tradtion now unfolding and becoming the staple

of life... is how to live when you merely exist, while

around the Fringes of Life itself.Every moment of

every day, Each and every Holiday and Winter, Summer,

Spring and Fall. A Tradition that is a

Century in the Making.

Another Thanksgiving steeped in the

Non-Traditional specs of Street life.

Thanksgiving Blessings.

Whispers of Hope...

~ Whispers of Hope ~

That's what you find when you're on the streets that come through in the little

things that make an incredible difference -- A warm embrace, a gentle touch,

a kind word – these are the Whispers of Hope embedded deep within the heart,

something that can only be given, truly given straight from the heart,

making a world of difference in your life.

There is always an upside to everything, regardless of circumstance – including

being homeless and having to live year after endless year on the streets.

Being out here has brought to my life some of the most remarkable people I

have been blessed to know, whom I otherwise would not have had the pleasure of meeting if I were not homeless and forced to live out here. Those out here on

the streets, as well as though rare few who are not who have brought such

beautiful gifts of love, warmth, and humanity with a glimmer of HOPE

to my heart and my life. Enriching my heart on the deepest level at the

very core of my being...

The negative aspects of being on the streets are endless and weigh heavily

on your heart and soul, and would consume me whole, if I let it. That's why I

do my best to shift that focus onto more positive things, which at times truly

becomes a treasure hunt in the truest sense of the word. Those Whispers of Hope

are what keeps me going, pushing forward and sustaining me. Keeping it close

to your heart so you can call it forth when it's really needed.

When you are homeless, sometimes the physical fact of that circumstance

overshadows everything else around you, including the blessings that are generally disguised as something else so you don't always recognize them for what they are.

Every morning, I pull out a little journal and pen some Gratitude pages.

More often than not, that first stroke of my pen is so difficult,

trying to find something, anything, to really be Grateful for. Sometimes,

I have to look all around me to come up with even a few, but I do,

each and every day find something, many things, actually, to be grateful for.

Every morning, and most evenings, I have a front row seat for the

starts and ends to each day. Being witness to the sunrises, when it is not

overcast or raining, and the sunsets each evening. The songs of the

birds all around me, all the animals that share my space

and allow me to share in theirs.

My Gratitude list grows each and every day.... but it doesn't go down or diminish.

There are days that being Grateful is really hard,

especially with the forced circumstance I was put in and

everything I have to contend with.

But there is not a day that goes by that I fail to count the blessings in my life.