Howdy;
I can't believe that it has been a year since I last posted on here. Yeah, I know, they say a good to great blogger should be posting daily if not weekly. Sorry, but I just can't imagine people wanting to be reading about my day to day life as a homeless man. With that being said, I will now bring you up to date in my life as homeless.
First off, I realize that I am in a much better position then most homeless people are. I have actually been in a better position since I first became homeless. I believe the main reason is simple, I try to continue to find the positive, the good that still exist in my life instead of focusing on the negative. Thus, one of the main reasons why I don't post on here often, I don't want to post negative things and dwell on them. Don't get me wrong, negative stuff does happen, but it's not the main focus of my life. I want the true balance of accepting both positive and negative and be at peace with both.
Since my lost of income and housing in 2011, I have been able to find a job that pays just above minimum wage (now currently earning $10 p/h). I have been able to purchase a vehicle from a friend and paid it off. I have been able to continue building one of my non profits into a strong organization that continues to expand and grow for the good of the membership and for the world.
While there is much good happening to me, there is the continued lack of housing. I just can't seem to get to a financial point where I can afford to rent an apartment or a room in someone's house. The income from the day job has continued to grow over the past year and half, but not enough to afford housing in Austin.
The growth in Austin is too much and the city is heading for disaster if they don't get it under control. But, that's for the politicians to figure out. For now, I have to continue to work towards my survival.
Most people have in their minds that I am a bit crazy not focusing more energy into finding a better paying job that would get me off the streets, and while I understand their thought process, they don't know the whole story. Which is typical of people who judge, they only see a small sliver of what is happening and are quick to judge others based on their small vision of things.
Previously I have posted why I can't get a normal job with a great income. It is for those reasons that I work hard in building my non profit. True, my non profit may not serve the over all good of man kind as perceived by many, but it is something that I believe strongly about and because of my belief I am willing to continue to be homeless. And with that being said, I also realize that I have created a catch 22.
I work 40 plus hours in my day job to earn a decent income, and because of that, I lack the time to really work hard on the non profit that will ultimately get me the income I need to afford a decent place to live. When I leave the day job, I am mentally exhausted, which cuts into my mind set of doing what is necessary for the non profit. In addition, I work mostly during the day at the paying job, which has also limited me in being able to work on the non profit in a proper way. However, I am also grateful that as a contract employee, I can set my hours so that I can attend events and work on the non profit when I must. But, my loyalty to my friend who got me the job also keeps me focused on doing the job I am being paid for first and foremost during the day. Now you see the catch 22 situation.
None the less, I continue to work towards the goal of the non profit being able to hire me as a paid director, thus allowing me to continue to grow it and to be able to find a home to live in. Until such time, I continue to work hard in developing the non profit and assisting the membership in full filling their dreams. I honestly believe that by helping others, I will be helped. I know, many people will say I am crazy, mad and stupid to not think of myself first. That's fine, that's their point of view. Yet, I also believe that the mess of our society is tied to greed and I just can't be a part of that. I want to find that middle ground that allows for both to exist without the welfare of human spiritual life to be destroyed in the process.
Over the past few months, I have contemplated writing a short autobiography about my time as a homeless person while developing a non profit that helps others. The concept sounds good, but I ponder additional thoughts: who would read this? have I succeed since I am still homeless? Is there a positive message that motivates and inspires people coming from my story? Is this just a way of gaining self promotion? Please feel free to share your thoughts to these questions.
Life goes on, I go on....
I can't believe that it has been a year since I last posted on here. Yeah, I know, they say a good to great blogger should be posting daily if not weekly. Sorry, but I just can't imagine people wanting to be reading about my day to day life as a homeless man. With that being said, I will now bring you up to date in my life as homeless.
First off, I realize that I am in a much better position then most homeless people are. I have actually been in a better position since I first became homeless. I believe the main reason is simple, I try to continue to find the positive, the good that still exist in my life instead of focusing on the negative. Thus, one of the main reasons why I don't post on here often, I don't want to post negative things and dwell on them. Don't get me wrong, negative stuff does happen, but it's not the main focus of my life. I want the true balance of accepting both positive and negative and be at peace with both.
Since my lost of income and housing in 2011, I have been able to find a job that pays just above minimum wage (now currently earning $10 p/h). I have been able to purchase a vehicle from a friend and paid it off. I have been able to continue building one of my non profits into a strong organization that continues to expand and grow for the good of the membership and for the world.
While there is much good happening to me, there is the continued lack of housing. I just can't seem to get to a financial point where I can afford to rent an apartment or a room in someone's house. The income from the day job has continued to grow over the past year and half, but not enough to afford housing in Austin.
The growth in Austin is too much and the city is heading for disaster if they don't get it under control. But, that's for the politicians to figure out. For now, I have to continue to work towards my survival.
Most people have in their minds that I am a bit crazy not focusing more energy into finding a better paying job that would get me off the streets, and while I understand their thought process, they don't know the whole story. Which is typical of people who judge, they only see a small sliver of what is happening and are quick to judge others based on their small vision of things.
Previously I have posted why I can't get a normal job with a great income. It is for those reasons that I work hard in building my non profit. True, my non profit may not serve the over all good of man kind as perceived by many, but it is something that I believe strongly about and because of my belief I am willing to continue to be homeless. And with that being said, I also realize that I have created a catch 22.
I work 40 plus hours in my day job to earn a decent income, and because of that, I lack the time to really work hard on the non profit that will ultimately get me the income I need to afford a decent place to live. When I leave the day job, I am mentally exhausted, which cuts into my mind set of doing what is necessary for the non profit. In addition, I work mostly during the day at the paying job, which has also limited me in being able to work on the non profit in a proper way. However, I am also grateful that as a contract employee, I can set my hours so that I can attend events and work on the non profit when I must. But, my loyalty to my friend who got me the job also keeps me focused on doing the job I am being paid for first and foremost during the day. Now you see the catch 22 situation.
None the less, I continue to work towards the goal of the non profit being able to hire me as a paid director, thus allowing me to continue to grow it and to be able to find a home to live in. Until such time, I continue to work hard in developing the non profit and assisting the membership in full filling their dreams. I honestly believe that by helping others, I will be helped. I know, many people will say I am crazy, mad and stupid to not think of myself first. That's fine, that's their point of view. Yet, I also believe that the mess of our society is tied to greed and I just can't be a part of that. I want to find that middle ground that allows for both to exist without the welfare of human spiritual life to be destroyed in the process.
Over the past few months, I have contemplated writing a short autobiography about my time as a homeless person while developing a non profit that helps others. The concept sounds good, but I ponder additional thoughts: who would read this? have I succeed since I am still homeless? Is there a positive message that motivates and inspires people coming from my story? Is this just a way of gaining self promotion? Please feel free to share your thoughts to these questions.
Life goes on, I go on....
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