simple truths

I ended my previous blog, " Why Our Programs Will Never Stop Homelessnes, " on this note, "To fix homelessness, they don't need us. We need to need them." As a follow up to this, here is a story about giving charity wrapped in dignity... THE OLD EGG SELLER AND THE MADAM "How much for the eggs?" Asked a well-dressed Madam. The old seller replied, '$0.25 an egg, Madam.' She said to him, 'I will take 6 eggs for $1.25 or I will leave.' The old seller replied, 'Come take them at the price you want. Maybe, this is a good beginning because I have not been able to sell even a single egg today.' She took the eggs and walked away feeling she had won. She got into her fancy car and went to a posh restaurant with her friend. There, she and her friend, ordered whatever they liked.  They ate a little and left a lot of what they ordered. Then she went to pay the bill. The bill was $45.00, she gave $50.00 and asked the owner of the restaurant t

 What if we are totally wrong about WHY there are so many people "experiencing" homelessness? We continue to pour money into a service-based model for dealing with homelessness. Hand out food, because they lack food. Hand out clothes, because they lack money to buy clothes. Hand out tents because they lack the ability to find shelter. Rehousing programs abound and millions of dollars flood in to get "these people" off the streets. However, the number of chronically homeless people keeps rising. [Chronically homeless as defined here is distinctly separate from those facing temporary lack of housing due to job loss, sudden eviction, etc.] Despite our greatest efforts, the problem gets worse. But, what if we are trying to fix the wrong problem? People do not remain chronically homeless because of an inability to find housing or work. If highly motivated, a person could take advantage of the many programs and pull themselves up from the trenches and back on their feet.

 Wherever you are in your life right now, whatever is overwhelming, unbearable, indomitable or hopeless...breathe in with me....this too shall pass. These moments soften in passed time and will form a beautiful patina with age that you will remember fondly. Please also take note that whatever is peaceful, loving, safe and brings you joy, this too shall also pass. When my children were young, I cried tears, hot for wanting purpose! To be recognized by someone or something. To be heard and to make a difference. This has passed.... Now that my kids are almost all grown, I have found some path, some purpose and I can make a difference...but I would give anything to have those busy mommy days back. To care for and be needed by someone again. This too shall pass.... The day may come where I will be needed by someone, and have to care for someone again. It will not be easy. However, knowing this too shall pass, and I have grown wiser.  Learn to enjoy your moments. Even the painful and lonely

 My daughter, my dear, we need to talk Your grades are appaling,  your school has been calling you have some serious work to do here. I realize the world is on fire I am no climate change denier and though CNN has warned of an  imminent economic collapse But dont let that stop you from doing your best. You're not like the rest. You can be anything you want to be Sort of like that new AI machinery Have heard of how it can do everything you're learning to do except faster and better and always correct? They say we can't keep it in check. But my darling, don't fear. You'll go far Dream big. Become someone in the world Where soon there will be no one, or at least no one youll be able to see When the lights go out and the grid collapses under the weight of our spaceage cars and devices and those mega monoliths of data storing , knowledge hoarding devices Yes, the ones who hold the very things you're supposed to be hard studying So you can go out in the world and ....

 Thank you Lord,  For all the blessings in disguise, For blessings yet unrecognized. The ones that feel like grief, Later, like grateful relief. In this moment  Sorrow may consume my airs, Tomorrow, only you may know From this place I am now Where it is I will go. -LeAnne Love 2022  

Shame is a Glitch That sinking pit in your stomach and the hot flush through your face. We call this shame.  A special kind of embarrassment that follows rejection. Shame is when you feel that you are bad, or not good enough; lesser than; unworthy. "Saving face" is how we handle shame. With a tug at your collar, you straighten your back and clear your throat. Hoping no one noticed the seismic waves of shame that just toppled your tower. "I am good enough," your body language tries to declare. But your hot flushed cheeks, the sudden loss of air, all make you acutely aware, of how, possibly you aren't as awesome as you wanted to be. Job interview after job interview; cold call after cold call, date after date; request after request for a raise or a promotion. Denied, hung up on, rejected. Ouch! The inner doubts that rejection can spur! Especially prolonged, continuous rejection. It can take a toll on our self-esteem and our motivation to continue trying.

Kids Today; Infotoxicated Do you remember the smell of old books in the library? And the sound of the little wooden drawers being slid open and clunked shut, as you scoured through the Dewey decimal system? As the sacred silence was upheld, there was this magnanimous feeling of standing before the world's secret knowledge contained inside the pages. Waiting to be decoded, translated, filtered and finally rebottled as your own discovery of truth. Learning along with process of creating reports and presentations to share our new found knowledge of the world, I would liken it to how wine is made. Every grape hand picked and sorted and separated from the weeds and the leaves the same as one sorts through hundreds of books to find the best sources.  It is mashed and the excess removed, in much the way our brains would disseminate the important from the irrelevant, depending on our topic's focus. Finally, after having time to think about, or age, it is bottled and distributed to shar