This week's video may be seen on YouTube here.
Across the highway from our Center’s main entrance, the bushes and growth were cleared away last week. Now the unsheltered encampment on the parallel bike trail next to the highway can be seen in stark reality. One local grassroots movement, Sonoma County Acts of Kindness, is organizing meal drop-offs for the unsheltered. Individuals can sign up for breakfast, lunch, or supper. Feeding the over 170 inhabitants can be overwhelming. Not only that, there is much disagreement about how to address the unsheltered.
Whether a person thinks the city, or the faith communities, or individuals, or underfunded agencies should be doing something, the fact is the encampment is in plain view almost on our doorstep.
I marvel at how consciousness works: Things move into focus when a person takes a stand for such ideas as a world that works better, a world in which there is continued sharing of resources, in which people have enough food and adequate shelter, and so on.
I understand the frustration in my community about the situation, and I understand the pushback from concerned folk about making things worse through maintaining the encampment. I, too, have some conflicted feelings as a result of our property being broken into, from having bikes and statues stolen from our Center (and then retrieving them from the encampment.) I am a cyclist who has had items thrown at me on that path, and I no longer bike on it.
And still, I can’t do nothing. And I can’t ignore the vision we have for our world. I learned in Science of Mind that Principle is not bound by precedent. In this case, it suggests to me that I ought not to let my past wounds control my current decisions and future actions.
I’m thinking of the lyrics in Jana Stanfield’s song: I cannot do all the good that the world needs me to do, but the world needs all the good I can do.
So, although I don’t know what the physical solution is, I am leading my community in Spiritual Mind Treatment. At the same time, we are claiming a spot with that organization to feed some people. We have started collecting money for that purpose.
Some in the community object to this approach and feel that partnering with severely underfunded and understaffed community agencies that are familiar with the unsheltered population is the better way to go. (Our Center in Santa Rosa already has a history of supporting nonprofit organizations that are doing the work in the world that we are not skilled to do. We have been doing that for 16 years.)
Some in our community are concerned that issues such as severe addiction to methamphetamine, and mental illness, cannot be easily solved by sporadic good intentions. They express concern that volunteerism can cause things to get worse. Others are concerned that generosity and compassion will be taken advantage of by people who are not motivated to leave the encampment.
Nevertheless, there are people living on that trail who are not addicts, who are not criminals, but who are caught in traps that are difficult to escape from. If you’ve ever been low on resources and someone helped you out, you probably already know the power of loving-kindness. I’ve never been homeless, but I’ve lived close to the edge of not having enough to pay for anything other than my rent. That was terrifying. (I’d love to hear from any colleagues who have struggled with this.) Had it not been for the kindness of others, and what I learned in Dr. Bitzer’s Hollywood Church of Religious Science from Dr. Polifrone, who knows what might have become of me.
One organization that is inspiring me is Sonoma Applied Village Services. Their motto is “Shelter with Dignity.” They are working in encampments throughout Sonoma County to provide as many basic services as they can, such as case management, donation distribution, wellness checks, basic applications like ID and social security, and connecting to services like veterans and women’s support. They, I believe, provided portable restrooms on the trail, an action that is both applauded and criticized.
What is the unsheltered situation in your town like, and what in your town’s leadership has inspired you related to the issue?
Photo by Mayur Gala on Unsplash
This month we are celebrating the many ways various spiritual traditions observe the Holy Days. Today we are exploring Kwanzaa, an African American celebration of life introduced to the United States in 1966, in part to provide an alternative response to what some see as the commercialism of Christmas. The core principles of Kwanzaa are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
The last day of Kwanzaa is the beginning of the new year, January 1, and is a time of self-reflection and recommitment to values and vision. People who celebrate contemplate the answers to these questions:
Who am I? Am I really who I say I am? And am I all I ought to be? It is also a time, if necessary, to recommit to our highest values.
If you would like support getting grounded for the new year, and recommitting to who you are as a spiritual being, consider signing up for our free Lunch Time Learning series which takes place on Wednesdays at noon, January 8, 15, 22, and 29. Bring a pen, a bag lunch, and spend some time exploring your spiritual identity and setting your intention for how to navigate the year 2020. All are welcome, but everyone must register at the Information Table.
Warm regards,
Edward Viljoen
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