The Ties That Bind Us
I have just returned home from a 3 K mile, 6-week road trip to the desert southwest and back. One thing that struck me (other than how very beautiful this country is and how important it is to travel and connect with others) was how many people are homeless and living on the streets – in every city we visited. As the number of homeless skyrockets, I question…
Are we not seriously concerned about people living on the streets?
Do we not recognize that what happens to one of us, happens to all of us?
Can we mature as humans and live a commitment to the whole by co-creating our experience of life together?
If so, what does this look like?
We have a global war/refugee situation right now in Russia/Ukraine that is getting some of our awareness. There is a grassroots effort to use Air B and B to help by paying for unused nights of lodging so hosts can offer those nights to refugees fleeing the war. But it seems as though we focus on our distance from Russia and Ukraine as being why we aren’t helping more. Do we think this isn’t our issue as well? I’ve observed loud complaints about the rising fuel costs being more important than the wellbeing and autonomy of a country.
Is this a mature view or an isolated ‘me first’ view?
I’ve noticed that the people of Europe seem more acutely aware of being an integral part of the whole and therefore are concerned about others’ wellbeing. I’ve seen pictures of mothers leaving strollers at the train station for mothers and children escaping Ukraine. The people of Poland, when asked why they are profoundly helping the refugees of Ukraine, say it is because during WW II no one came to their aid. This is an example of learning from the past and choosing to make the present world better.
What does it mean to you to be treated humanely? What are life’s basic rights and how do we ensure them for all, even beyond our arbitrary borders?
Have we become so isolated and insular that sending a check is considered ‘enough’ help? What if we each learned the lessons of the past and viewed our world as one? How would the resulting change in perspective alter our behavior?
It takes moral courage to transform our world. We must each be willing to change our values to work for a future in which humans survive and thrive.
In Albuquerque, NM we saw a homeless camp expelled from a park to a parking lot in very cold weather so that the city could disinfect the camp. Hundreds of people dragged, pushed, and carried tents, tarps, carts, sleeping bags, and boxes and bags of belongings (along with kids and pets) a block away under the enforcement of the police. I get that the clean-up was necessary. However, no services were offered to them while these individuals/families spent the day huddled together in an exposed parking lot under piles of their things to get warm, or to get some sleep. This strikes me as the most basic human rights of shelter and food being ignored in the most inhumane of ways.
Yes, there are some services for refugees and the homeless. But what little is offered is not enough to absolve each of us from caring and acting. When we expand ours to a global view – where we are all one, we cannot escape the reality that when one suffers, we all suffer. What happens in Europe, happens here, and vice versa.
How will you act as an integral part of a global society to make life better for others, and therefore yourself?
What lessons from the past can illuminate our choices and opportunities today to create – together – a future that supports human life?
May the force of love and action be with each of us during this enlightening (and challenging) time!
Janna
Looking for a way to give back?
For those who would like a place to donate to help the homeless, I have been involved with this organization—they also help refugees!