winter in miami and you know what that means! time to receive a weather alert warning about iguanas because they get too cold and their bodies go dormant and they start falling out of trees
when you grow up in a punishment based, shame and blame environment, it is so easy to do the same with yourself and with others. and i really had to unlearn that. i still am.
even if you have nothing to give, just do your best to acknowledge them. smile. talk to them, if you have the time. You would never ignore a person in any other setting. We’ve reduced homeless people to just things that exist on the side of the road. they are people, not objects.
instead of arguing all day about what homeless people choose to do with their money maybe we should try focusing on how to be better people and make their lives a little more bearable. it quite literally could’ve been any of us in their shoes.
imagine pleading at people and consistently being ignored. i once saw a man on the street who wasn’t even asking for money, he was just yelling “have a good day” at people walking by. not a single one responded to him. imagine what that does to a person’s brain.
research shows that being ignored activates the anterior cingulate cortex, the same part of the brain that gets activated when you feel physical pain. this is why the silent treatment is so damaging. now IMAGINE if that was your entire life.
even when people do try to help, they still likely won’t look at them or try to engage with them directly. they’ll throw some money at them and keep it moving, because they don’t want to deal with any feelings that engaging with the person might evoke. it’s too uncomfortable.
i once heard a homeless man say that one of the worst parts of being on the street is the dehumanization. people feel so guilty about not helping you that they won’t even look at you. imagine spending weeks upon weeks being ignored, essentially invisible.
i cannot work a job i dont have time. everyday i need at least 2 hours to journal 3 hours to walk around and think about how i Feel and another 6 hours to daydream