Do we see and hear when people are hurting?
Do we pay attention or look away?
Do we even care?
Do we do anything about it?
As queen Marie-Antoinette said when told that her people were starving and had no bread, what did she say?
Let them eat cake!
Pray that we are better than that. 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Continued to be appalled at the unlivable “living conditions” of the homeless in the Capital.
Makeshift tents line up and down under the train tracks to Union Station.
Spikes overhead make this an extra frightening looking arrangement.
People walking by and to/from work–after a while, is there a mixture of acceptance and indifference?
It’s freezing outside and this is NO WAY for any human being to have to live.
Can we put partisan politics aside for any period of time to deal with the very harsh problems facing real people? 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
(Source Photos: Andy Blumenthal)
I really had to take a second look at this.
From a distance, it looked like another homeless person sleeping on the bench in Washington., D.C.
But as I got closer, I realized this was a statue of a homeless person.
And the only thing real about it was the empty cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee next to it.
Honestly, I am not sure what the point of this statue is.
There are enough REAL homeless people to remind us of their serious plight and the critical need to help them.
The money that went into creating this monument would’ve been far better spent on helping these real people in need. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So lots of people like to drink tea.
But the other day, a nice person was telling me how they drink tea all the time.
It’s not just that they like tea, but there was an important true story behind it.
You see, they said, when they were young growing up in a foreign country, they often didn’t have enough to eat.
So instead, they had resorted to drinking lots of tea.
They went on to say, that as children, they often had to go to sleep hungry.
It is truly a wake-up call for those of us who, thank G-d, have what to eat and so much choice and plenty in this great country.
Not everyone in the world is so blessed to eat heartily and go to sleep with a full and satisfied belly.
It is especially saddening and tragic when we are talking about innocent children in this world.
As we go from the workweek to the weekend, perhaps it is a good time to reflect on how much we have to be grateful for and to wish blessings of peace, health, and prosperity on all our fellow mankind, here and all around the world. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumethal)
I love this organization, Think Dignity.
They do hands-on advocacy and activism to help the homeless.
From providing them storage lockers, bathrooms, showers, haircuts/shaves, clothing boutique, hygiene products (e.g. tampons etc.), drinking water, legal services, and more.
While others looks away, they jump in to actually do something real.
They actually bring mobile showers to them!
The video show on the left, one person living a regular life with a home, job, and everything they need, and on the right, another person down on their luck, homeless and needy.
Both are G-d’s creatures–one just needs a fresh start!
At the end of the video, it says:
Don’t Look Away.
Think Love.
Think Hope.
Think Strength.
Think Worth.
Think Dignity.
I hope you are truly moved in the same way that I am by this organization and their beautiful mission and meaningful outreach activities. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
A lady dropped these placards around on the Metro yesterday with a little pack of tissues.
It says:
“Hi, I have 2 kids and I’m a single mother and I have no job. If you can please help me for food and for rent. G-d bless you. Thank you.”
It is heart-wrenching, the poverty!
People without food or shelter.
Many without medicine and proper clothing.
Basic things that most of us take for granted.
It takes so little for everything to go to sh*t.
Both individually and also societally.
The world can be a cruel, cruel place.
But people can open their hearts and wallets to help others.
Also, advocate for people that are less fortunate.
Imagine G-d looking down and what does he see from us. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
I took this photo in Washington, DC.
Two statues of back-to-back homeless people in the grit on the sidewalk.
They sit as everyone rushes on past them–many stone faced as well as too many stone hearted.
In this case, someone put the newspaper Street Sense on the lap of the statue.
As many in DC, the homeless are trying to get back on their feet in this case by writing articles for and selling this newspaper about homelessness, poverty, and social issues.
Impressive that they sell about 16,000 of the biweekly 16-page paper and that the homeless vendors make about $45 per day doing this.
Like this picture of the homeless on the street, bracing back against each other and sort of huddled up among the masses of the fortunate around them, I imagine that they must really feel like these statues–odd, uncomfortable, lost, scared, and painted over by society that marks them as dirty, dangerous, and unwanted.
But these homeless and hungry are G-d’s children, no less than any of us!
I applaud Street Sense and other advocates and activists that see, hear, and feel beyond themselves and help the needy and downtrodden.
Helping these people in desperate need is truly G-d’s work, and like recently sainted, Mother Teresa, is an act of unbelievable kindness and mercy that we can all learn from and should emulate. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
My daughter went to a cool work seminar yesterday on emotional intelligence and she told me five important takeaways for creating EI health:
1. Self-awareness
2. Self-regulation
3. Self-motivation
4. Effective relationships
5. Empathy
Certainly, exerting self-control and working effectively with others is sort of obvious.
But it is not necessarily easy for everyone to do.
Reflecting on this, some people seem to need no microphone or megaphone.
They can’t get off the elevating soapbox and behave instead is as if they are the whole show onto themselves.
Enjoying to talk alone or above everyone else, maneuvering with drama and theatrics, and being cemented squarely in that center stage.
Perhaps highly intelligent about the subject matter, but often quite low on emotional intelligence.
Seeing neither the objective nor the team, unable to recognize and respect others or to listen to alternate points of view, it may go on for quite some time before they come up for air.
Overly extroverted, oblivious, uncaring, or perhaps needy or narcissistic.
Seeming to say, “I was created and stand in the center of the universe and all revolves around me!”
Chasing honor and dismissive as to their way or the highway–threats lurk, right or wrong.
This is definitely a job for self-improvement and to personal advancement.
Can EI be learned?
Perhaps if the person can stop for a sec and just listen and be humbly part of the human race. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Beautiful simple birdhouses in Downtown DC.
We all need to live somewhere.
Too many people in shelters and on the streets.
Started giving money to some of the homeless on the way to the Metro.
My friend’s father used to say, “If they ask then they need it.”
Perhaps what’s needed is a little more kindness, TLC, and compassion for all G-d’s loving creatures.
While it’s nice to look up to aspire and climb the next rung of life, it’s as important to look down and remember from where you came and where you can still go again. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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