Homeless by choice?
By relundad
@relundad (2310)
United States
June 17, 2008 10:16pm CST
I once met a homeless man, many years ago. He hung out at a gas station that I worked at. He was educated and at one point in his life lived a very nice life. Unfortunately he lost all of the members of his immediate family and possesions in a house fire. He consciously decided that he no longer wanted a house or the contents of since his family would never share that with him. For him the people made those things worth having, without the family he refused to have them. Do you know of any one that is homeless by choice?
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3 responses
@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
18 Jun 08
No I haven't met anyone like this but to a point I can understand when a lot of things like that happen to you one way to cope is to rid yourself of all ties, that man only has two things in life to worry about...food and where to shelter...things that would worry me but probably makes him feel free.
@artistmel2000 (438)
• United States
18 Jun 08
I don't remember ever knowing the intimate details of a homeless person, but I do remember a news report some years back about some police officers finding a man in a park (down in Florida somewhere) and he was obviously homeless. Upon waking him and searching him for weapons, they found a total of $3,000+ on his person. When asked where all the money came from, he replied that he got it from begging on the street.
I guess the question I had at the time, and even now, is if he had all that money, why not use it to eat or find somewhere to sleep for the night besides some bushes in a park? I guess if you've been homeless long enough, material things hold no more value for you than the clothes on your back, but still.... I know many homeless people are either mentally ill or addicts, but some are truly homeless by choice. I don't understand it.
The story of this man you mention in your post makes me feel sorry for his plight, but something tells me he'd throw my pity (or anyone else's) right back at them along with the material possessions anyone would try to bestow upon him. I can't imagine losing my family in a traumatic way such as a house fire, but it seems to me that he stopped living and is content with just existing. What kind of quality of life is that? What could he do to make his station in life more tolerable than being homeless? I don't have the answers, but until he makes a conscious choice to try to live instead of exist, then he will remain homeless.
@artistmel2000 (438)
• United States
18 Jun 08
I guess if his only thing in life was to see others smile, then he was doing with his life what he thought was best. Believe me, I do not sit in judgment of people who make the choices they make, especially if I don't agree with those choices or would make those same choices for myself. I guess when you lose what you value most in life, you choose a life where nothing else can be taken from you. It's kind of sad, really.
@relundad (2310)
• United States
18 Jun 08
This guy was the same way, he asked for money from the patrons of the gas station and way back then he averaged about 300 dollars per day. He donated it to a nearby homeless shelter. He would eat the food that we would normally throw out and i would open the door on the bathroom on the outside of the store for him to sleep in the winter. It was just the life that he chose and the miracle of it was that he always wanted to see others smiling.
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