Creating Gratitude – I Had to Become Homeless
As I type this I am sitting in a restaurant basking in tiredness and also in gratitude. Why am I tired and grateful?
A night spent sitting on park benches and finding places to eat to keep yourself awake is taxing and I wouldn’t recommend it for daily living. However, this has given me a chance to reflect on life, human connection and the vastly different environments in which we as human beings can and do survive.
You see I am not under any great plight and don’t face any serious burdens or obstacles in my life. I am merely, at current, without a place to put my things or lay my head and that’s okay. Despite some of the uncertainty and fear that goes along with not having a place to live, there is also an under-current of gratitude. Gratitude for my existence and ability to appreciate all that I have been given, which has brought me up to this point in my life.
Earlier this morning, while in this same restaurant, I was eavesdropping on a meeting between two former actors and theater gentlemen who were discussing possibly joining forces to help bring a major play to fruition. This play has been in the works for 7 years and a ton of labor and love have been put into it. As I listened to these men recant industry tales and shared connections, I was deeply touched by the wonder of this life. Our ability to interweave with separate lives and accomplish things with and through these lives is profound. In fact, much of my journey through life has been accomplished with the help and support of others.
If I had come into this world alone and had to learn everything from scratch, I’d probably just now, at the age of 29, have my head wrapped around changing my own diaper. I am extremely grateful for all this assistance through my journey. Perhaps it is because of this gratitude and exhaustion that I was able to be open and strike upon a conversation that could yield a solution to my current situation.
A short while after my theater gentlemen left, a man came up and asked if he could share my table. You see I am sitting at a very comfortable booth meant for four and I’m hogging the whole thing, but to be fair, it was the only table with a plug, which I must have to continue these computer endeavors. I was clicking away online, looking for a place to live and glancing up at this gentleman across from me. When his food arrived I decided that I would stop, lower my computer screen and ask him what he was having. This action began a conversation, a shared connection. Anyhow, to cut to the chase, my new conversationalist tells me of his work, his spirituality and some of his life. I in turn share some of mine and we arrive upon the fact that I’m looking for a place and am without shelter.
As it turns out, this fellow has a room he is strongly considering renting in a great location here in NYC and also at a really great price. A price that is within my budget and will allow me to also save money for my trip to Egypt in March. Now I don’t know if this will work out, but the synchronicity of the moment has left me knowing the Universe will continue to provide for me and that I will be alright.
Sometimes a challenging experience can help you come through and see just how much more challenging it could be and that despite all this there is support and opportunities if you will just open yourself up to others.
Today I learned a lesson of what can happen when I stop what I’m wrapped up in and take the time to connect to another human being.
Posted via web from From the Head of Hand
