Observing people

I had an appointment to keep today which meant I had to get up early even though I was not working.
I took a book and my transit pass and headed for the light rail line.
I left a bit early so I could get off at the first stop and buy some coffee to take with me. I have changed coffee shops but not because of taste, ambiance or cost. I changed because I feel more welcomed by the people in the new coffee shop. Not everyone was unfriendly or made me feel uncomfortable in the other shop, actually there was only one young woman who made me feel less than comfortable. It had to do with a question I asked when she charged me more than I had been charged before. I asked if the price had gone up and she treated me like I was lying to her which was awkward and embarrassing.  The other ladies are quite nice but it only takes the possibility of that one person being behind the counter to make me turn to the right instead of the left when I get off the light rail.

This morning, in the new shop - which is not really new except to me - the young women were not only friendly, they remembered what I bought last time and asked me about my weekend. I felt good buying the coffee from them. It is nice to be part of a neighborhood and a good way to start the day.
   
On the light rail going downtown I watched as a young man who was clearly blind got on the train with another person, possibly his tutor or daily companion. There is a section that is clearly marked for people with disabilities or who are elderly but no one got up for this young man. I was not close enough to offer my seat but I watched as others shifted their eyes so as too appear like they didn't see this blind man who needed a seat. His companion looked around but no one looked back so he led the young man up the stairs to a regular seat. I felt slightly embarrassed for the lack of compassion or even courtesy or just willingness to follow the rules: "These are priority seats for seniors and people with disabilities!" That means you must get up if you are not a senior and not disabled and offer your seat if someone gets on who fits the description.

Later on the train I was trying to read my book but kept being distracted by a young man about twenty years old who was make noises with a small chain attached to a water bottle. I looked up to see what the noise was and met his eyes briefly. They were blood shot and he seemed to be high on something... marijuana I supposed - since he was in a good mood but unable to hold still like a small child. He started hitting his metal water bottle against his hand or knee in a way that was not musical or rhythmic. I kept reading and at another stop someone got on and sat down across from the noise maker.

The young man began sharing how he was going to drop off a job application at a pizza place. He held up a large envelope that he had with him indicating that it held the application. He then began to talk about how as soon as he had this job he would be able to get an apartment and contribute to the city in a positive way. Contrary to reality he said that housing in the city was plentiful and he would have no problem finding a place right away. All the while that he talked he kept tapping or shaking his water bottle. He also mentioned that he didn't do drugs although he said "I do drink" and added that he thought that drinking contributed to the city's economy. I felt kind of sad thinking that I couldn't imagine anyone hiring this young man to work around people. He was very oblivious to his behavior which was annoying not only to me, but to a number of people who kept glancing at him as he made noises. Eventually he got off the train. I had a good long way to go.

After changing trains I sat down across from a young man who was very very high on something, meth I supposed. He was moving non-stop with his arms and face gesturing and acting as if he was communicating somehow with someone no one else could see. The much older woman who was seated nearest to him was clearly uncomfortable, maybe a bit scared since the young man's gesturing was very elaborate. He got off after a couple of stops and I thought that he had made the noise maker of the last train seem almost normal.

There was a couple with a toddler seated by the window. The little boy was very excited to be on the train. The woman, who I assumed was his mom, kept up a running dialogue with him about everything that was happening. When I first got on the train he looked over at me, smiled and waved. Sometimes it makes me happy to look like a grandmother... I am a grandmother after all and little people feel comfortable around grandmothers. Smiles are nice gifts.

There was another child who got on the train downtown very reluctantly. His caretaker had to coax almost pull the little guy onto the train. She was a woman who would only have been his mother by adoption since they were not of the same ethnicity. I thought that she was more likely a babysitter or caretaker of some sort. I wondered how I would know without making a fool of myself if this woman was supposed to have this unhappy child with her but as I watched them together I could see that she was very gentle and he was eventually at ease with her even if he had not wanted to get on the train at first. Sometimes we just trust that things are okay.

It is amazing that I was able to read so much of my book and get so much people watching in at the same time. I like being out in public. I am wondering what some of the other transit riders were thinking when they saw me!   

Out and About

At last! Milder weather and returning strength. The cold weather combined with a fall and a few minor ailments left me with less energy for getting out into the world. But at last I am feeling my strength coming back.
I am really pleased that so many people are popping up all along the walking trail. It makes me happy to see so many neighbors out enjoying the fresh air. Many people are now walking down to take the light rail in to town and others are walking or biking since the finished trail makes for a safe and pleasant walking environment.
I have lived in my current home for more than 30 years and I have never felt as happy about the neighborhood as I do now. The walking/biking trail and the light rail access have made a huge difference. There are now two coffee shops at the first light rail stop and both seem to be thriving. With that stop being midway from my daughter's house and my own we can meet in between without driving much more easily than before. In fact with the opening of the light rail the bus that goes by closest to my home now turns and goes right by my daughter's house. It is a lovely alternative to driving that I appreciate more and more with time.
I met a lady on the trail this morning who I have not seen in some time. She is the mother of a  childhood friend of one of my daughters. She told me that she is trying to get out walking more and then she remarked that I was looking younger than before. I translate that to mean that she noticed that I am not carrying extra weight because walking and a vegan diet have been very healthy for me.
Did I also mention that my acupuncturist is a block off the light rail as well? It is just lovely to be so connected and yet to live where I can raise chickens and grow a garden. Life is good. 
I am hoping to get back to riding my bike as well when the weather is a bit more reliably dry. I may not have the stamina to ride the 8.5 miles into work anymore, but I can certainly ride the trail for fun whenever I like. Last evening my husband and I took the light rail into Milwaukie for dinner and to run some errands and while we were walking we discovered a real sign of transition next to City Hall -- a bike repair station available for anyone in need! Let me tell you, what a huge change that is for the City of Milwaukie. When my children were in school progressive/alternative/or forward thinking were not terms that were generally used to describe the town. But now! I am really impressed and although  hope not to have my bike break down when I am riding... it is great to know where I could go if I was in need! Pretty impressive Milwaukie!

Fasting

Wednesday marks the start of Lent. For Christians Lent is a time to reflect on the way that they are living in relationship to others. 

Lent also gives another opportunity to become overwhelmed by the abundance of the natural world. Caught up in everyday routines it is very easy to become oblivious to the abundance that is part of Creation and instead become caught up in the frantic desire to protect one's self against scarcity – which is a major force behind capitalist economics.

If more is always better, safer somehow, then how do people know when they have enough? When to quit accumulating or eating? There may be a financial goal to reach before a decision to marry, or have children, or before buying a house, or going back to school or changing from a horrible job to one that is more fulfilling or before retiring or whatever the goal might be… but strangely enough, the goal can keep expanding out in the face of the fear of scarcity that fuels our economy; an economy that is based on more and more and more until the abundance of Creation is entirely reduced to commodities that are daily being destroyed.

The need for more and more has motivated humans not only to take more than they need from the land and the sea, but has promoted ways of producing that pollute land, air and water while denying creatures any enjoyment of the life for which they evolved. Here I speak specifically of factory farms which raise both animals and fish in unnatural ways in order to feed the over consumption fostered by those who make money in these industrial operations. 

Lent can be a time to become conscious of abundance – an abundance that is daily being diminished by human greed, but which many people believe is still abundant enough to recover if only humanity can put on the brakes. I want to believe that this is true even though I am aware of the great depletion of the seas and the variety of seeds and wild or natural life in general.

Writing in his book Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating, (Cambridge University Press, 2011) Norman Wirzba says that “Creation is the concrete manifestation of God’s sacrificial love” and that “it is an imperative that food production and consumption recognize and honor the costly grace of life.” 

He notes that “as creatures made in the image of a self-giving God, humanity’s most fundamental task is to participate in God’s self-offering life dedicated to the nurture and well-being of all creatures…" And that, "the paradigm of eaters as mostly unknowing and uncaring consumers is a dangerous one because it suggests that people can eat without concern for the health of the soil, the plants, and the animals they depend upon. (p. 135). I believe it is imperative that people become conscious eaters if the rest of Creation is to have a fair chance at survival.”

Wirzba also cautions that those who eat animals must do so in ways that respect their integrity and well-being and therefore honor God. But for this condition be met it is crucial that these animals be accorded the attention and care that reflects God’s own self-giving care for creation.(136-137).

Those people who choose not to eat any fish, animals or dairy, and I include myself in this category, do so because we are aware that more than 95 percent of chickens, turkeys, laying hens, and pigs, 78 percent of cattle, and virtually all fish currently sold in the US are raised without "the attention and care that reflects God’s own self-giving care for creation". There are not enough animals raised with the dignity they deserve to satisfy the needs of all who want them – nor is there the necessary amount of land, water or other resources to make a complete switch away from the terrors of factory farms if everyone continues to consume the same amount of meat, dairy, eggs and fish. Less is best: for the health of all creation.

During Lent, Catholic Christians are called to give up meat on Ash Wednesday and on Fridays, and to fast between meals on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting and abstaining can help people to develop the discipline that is needed in a world that is filled with material goods and access to more than enough of everything.

“How we eat, what we eat, and how much demonstrate what we think our responsibilities to each other and the world should be...People who fast learn that food is a gift and is not to be taken for granted or exploited...When we fast, we learn that too much of the time personal life is marked by an aggressive or rapacious disposition... When we fast, we learn that in many of our actions we presume that the world’s gifts exist for our own exclusive enjoyment...Fasting, in other words, leads us to a realization about the responsibilities of life together. When we refrain from eating, we not only demonstrate solidarity with those who do not have food to eat, but we also demonstrate that food is the precious gift of a self-giving God. It is a gift not to be taken for granted or to be presumed upon. We need to refrain from eating from time to time so that we can more fully appreciate food as a gracious gift, and then also practice the self-offering that will enable others to eat when they don’t have enough." (142)

Wirzba makes the point that feasting is not the opposite of fasting… rather it is gluttony that is the opposite of fasting. Gluttony is an obsession with eating where the stomach and taste buds rule. A glutton not only takes more than they need, they spend much of their time thinking about food and how to satisfy their particular desires. Feasting on the other had is the recognition of God’s grace in the gifts we receive. We generally associate feasting with food.. but we can feast on other things, a glorious sunset or the company of good friends as well. The key is to recognize God’s gift in whatever we are receiving and to rejoice in the gift. Clearly it is possible then to feast during Lent even as we fast from those things that are harmful or which distract us from living faithful lives. 

  

I will close with words from Wirzba's book and a recommendation that you read what he has to say. His book is available on Kindle as well as in hard copy.

"People should feast so they do not forget the grace and the blessing of the world. People should fast so they do not degrade or hoard the good gifts of God. We feast to glorify God, we fast so we do not glorify ourselves."

Return of the light

The days are slowly getting longer and I am grateful.
There is a brief period of time in the weeks just before and after the winter solstice when it is too dark to let the chickens out before I leave for work and yet, by the time I get home, they are already in for the night.
With the chickens as our solar counters, it is possible to realize the lengthening days even when it is still dark in the morning when I rise. Each day the chickens stay outside a little longer, retreating into the safety of their coop only when they have determined that the light is insufficient for keeping night time predators away. The time they choose to go in varies a bit each day but as the days go by the variation is quite noticeable. And then, just a day ago, the first egg of the lengthening days appeared and today another: a sure sign that indeed the days are getting brighter.

People who walk by our house especially those with children often linger to watch the chickens running around in the yard. Inevitably there are chicken questions. The other day a couple with children were stopped at the gate as my granddaughter and I left for our walk to the light rail line. I said mostly in passing that we had found the first egg of the new year. One of the ladies asked, "is it because it is getting warmer?" But no, it is not. It is because the light is returning. I often explain to people who eat eggs year round that they are either eating eggs that have been refrigerated for months or else they are eating eggs from chickens who are forced with the use of artificial lighting to lay eggs year round. Most people really don't know this... or anything much about how the seasons affect the habits of the animals who assist them in their lives. Then again many people are only just learning about the habits and needs of the plants that serve them as well.

I have been walking about every other day down the trolley trail and into town. (Town is just a small suburban city outside the big city, but it is big enough to provide most needs if not the wants of people in the area.) The route I walk keeps me moving for about 30 minutes and then I am at a small coffee shop where  can buy an almond milk-half-caff latte for a whole dollar cheaper than in the big city where I go to work. With my latte in hand I can then catch the light rail back home and feel quite refreshed. I love seeing how Earth is beginning to respond to the longer days. Walking the same route allows me to see a progression of little things; small sprouts, water eddies, buds and the evidence of little creatures - and big ones as well.

Today my daughter came to walk with me. We walked into town and I bought my latte while she waited as she was already "coffeed up" for the day. Then we caught the light rail to the next stop where we could easily access a hiking/biking trail that goes through a nature preserve. It was lovely to walk and talk even though the rain was coming down quite steadily. We walked down into the nature area by a creek that has the bad habit of flooding when the rains are particularly intense. The water was rushing along but well within its bounds. We could see where the Park's people had marked the water height during the most recent flood and we were aware of people camping in the dense forested areas. My daughter wondered about their safety near a creek that is prone to flood, while I thought it was a shame that people are forced to camp in the woods in the rain in this wealthy country.

Along the way I could not help but stop to pick up garbage. The returning light always seems to bring out a number of human creatures who can't clean up after themselves. I would rather just pick it up than let the garbage continue to grow in the midst of the other growing things. By the time we got back to the light rail we were wet through and through but I had the good fortune to have gained new insights from my intelligent and thoughtful daughter-- which is of course another way for light to return.     

Evolving into th Future

For many Christians, Sunday marked the end of the Christmas Season.

The season ends with a reflection on the story of Jesus answering the call of John the Baptist, stepping out into the public world of first century Palestine through baptism in the river Jordan.

Christmas is the Season when Christians stop to remember the Good News that God is with us - and not with Christians alone but with all people. Deep Incarnation.

In this there is hope not just for today, but for the possibilities of the future.

We have learned from the gift of science that our world, in fact the whole universe, is in a process of becoming, evolving toward some future that can not even be imagined. Theologians, scientists and philosophers are all trying to envision what this continuing process of becoming can mean.

Too much time has been spent by theologians imagining that there was some previous moment when the universe or at least the earth was in some kind of perfect, or pristine condition - when all along it has been evolving steadily toward some future moment. Our sacred stories try to tell us of the time when humans arrived – but they can do so only imperfectly and always from our human point of view. The story of the Garden of Eden might be telling us that conditions at one moment were just right for the first step toward human existence, consciousness, and self awareness, but at the same time, all of the universe was in motion, evolving, becoming something as yet unknown. Evolution did not stop for humanity’s step into being, rather it seems that from within the continuing evolution a space was created that humans were able to fill and from that time on our ancient ancestors made steps that allowed them to continue growing and evolving into creatures capable of recognizing the Grace of God’s presence.

Jesus came into this world and made the same journey that each of us must make, from infant to adult, from birth to death. And by making this same journey validated our lives and the incremental steps that we make from generation to generation as we evolve within the presence of God who is Love.

The ancient texts tell of the hope people held as they struggled to make sense of their journey through life, through time. They had they hope that one day all would be well, that the Divine presence with them would be recognized, healing them and leading them ever forward out of agony and despair, into the fullness of joy, light and peace. Christians believe that in Jesus God's Presence was at last revealed. This is the miracle so recently celebrated throughout the Christmas Season. God is here. God has always been here though it took the presence of Jesus to make the Divine presence known.    

Jesus shows us the way and invites us to follow. It a way of humility, trust and love. 

We do not know where the end of our journey will be. We only know that we have been invited to come along. Trusting that the gentle, inclusive, and love filled path that Jesus walked will get us where we need to go at the moment we most need to be there.

But in order to follow this path we need to look forward, not backward. And that has been a problem with religion for some time now: clinging to the belief that the past held the perfect moment, the Garden of Eden, the right law, the perfect followers of Jesus, the correct words for praise, the right steps for peace and all along missing the reality that the universe is still evolving and as it moves, everything is evolving toward something more.

There is evil and brokenness in our world that comes from human sinfulness, our neglect and carelessness. But there is also the imperfection that comes with being a creation not fully finished, still evolving, always moving toward the path that makes for the fullness of life.

The past gives us lessons to learn from but it cannot give us the path forward because no time has been like this time. This moment in 2016 -- with all the possibilities and difficulties and resources that are available to us -- is a unique moment that will never exist again. In the light of faith, people are invited to view the world with Love and to be filled with hope and anticipation for what is to come.

In Laudato Si Pope Francis wrote: The universe did not emerge as the result of arbitrary omnipotence, a show of force or a desire for self-assertion. Creation is of the order of love. God’s love is the fundamental moving force in all created things. (77)

That should be comforting. We don’t need to be afraid of evolving, of growing and learning because the moving force in all created things is God’s love. Called beyond the fear of evolving, we are called to be attentive to the evolution of the universe. Writing in his book Resting on the Future, John Haught says: 

I believe a radical shift in cosmology and metaphysics could do much to liberate Catholic ethical reflection from the lingering effects of centuries of impatient otherworldly pietism, clericalism, and moralistic perfectionism. Once the horizon of religious expectation shifts toward concern for the cosmic future, our ethical idealism may give priority to the thriving of all creation, rather than the mere perfecting of our own souls. We may find, after all, that by attending to this wider concern – uniting our thirst for the kingdom of God to our sense of the world’s ongoing creation—our moral aspirations may gain fresh focus and motivation.” (145)

So what does this mean for people of faith today?

I think we generally keep our faith perspective too small.

The challenge from theology today is to consider something much larger. The whole of the Universe is evolving and we are a part of it. 

Jesus came into a world where there were deep divisions and troubles. The way he led his life facilitated healing and grace while others chose to feed into fear and suffering.

What we do each day matters. Our choices large and small make a difference in the evolving world and in the evolution of humanity. Scientists can tell us how at each tiny juncture, creation always opts for life whenever that pathway exists. This then is our clue about the importance of the choices we make. We are a part of this marvelous creation, the world, the universe and what we do matters because everything is connected and our choices should reflect our beliefs.

Everyday people are given the opportunity to choose what is life giving and loving at each tiny juncture, knowing that the force that keeps everything moving is Love. People can hinder movement with selfish acts, but like the path of water when it encounters an obstacle, Love will keep things going around or over us if necessary.

By grace, each day is a new day to respond. We may step out uncertain about the result, but knowing that we too must respond, as long as we are alive.

There are deep divisions and troubles in this world and we can either facilitate healing and grace or feed into fear and suffering.

I am encouraged and invigorated by the fact that Pope Francis and others are challenging Christians and all people to expand our consciousness. 

May this 2016 year be for you an exciting and inspiring journey. 

Moving around again

Transitioning from young to older is a transition that I have not yet mastered.
I learned the hard way that standing up while putting on my socks is probably not the best thing for me to do. When I was younger and lost my balance I likely had a bit more resiliency! As it turns out I cracked a rib and caused just enough trauma to my neck and back to take me out of action for a few days! Ever eager to get on with things I went back to work as soon as I could move around and depleted every last ounce of energy by working overly long days back to back. I got a lot done and was able to help at the winter shelter for 5 or six hours but I ended up with a horrible cold that made my last day of the work week seem endless. Now, after a couple of days of sleeping for long periods, I am back in the swing of things --- with a little less swing at the outer edges.
Sometimes it is just hard to remember that I must be a little more thoughtful about what I can endure!

My community was able to provide shelter for 65-85 people every night for seven nights starting just before the end of the year and culminating a few days into the new year. Is is a rewarding experience to host the severe weather shelter. People are for the most part very grateful to be inside which helps to limit behaviors that can be disruptive to others. No one really wants to go out into the cold or to send anyone else out there either. People who live outdoors most of the time are generally quite reluctant to come indoors so the first few nights usually have the lowest numbers of people. But by the end of an extended cold snap people are worn out trying to stay warm and come indoors even though they hate to do so. We try to make lots of allowances for people knowing that people are not used to being so close to so many other people. Spending days and days together is very difficult - much like an extended slumber party - and by the end of a week people are ready to find 'alone time' anyway they can.

We have been lucky in the last few years to find people from the homeless community who are capable of hosting the overnight shift. These trusted folks know the community and the issues of the community well enough to know when to step in and when to let things go as only people who are on the inside of the group can do. In the last year we have also had some funding for the emergency shelter which allows us to give the overnight crew some payment for their time and efforts.

If I didn't spend time with homeless people as I do, I am sure that I would be afraid or suspicious of them just as so many people in our city tend to be. For me they are just people, sometimes with issues that set them apart from people who live indoors, thought usually the difference is in degree and in the visibility they must have with the public at large. Many people fight or argue with their spouse or partner from time to time but usually in the privacy of their own home. It can be disconcerting to reflect on what it would be like to live your whole life in public. Sure movie stars and public figures are used to being watched, but even they can shut their doors and pull down the shades. The people in the homeless community only wish they could.       

My favorite part of hosting the shelter is coming in early in the morning to make and serve oatmeal. I like to bring some extras: chopped walnuts or almonds, raisins, cranberries, cinnamon and the like. I find that people respond very well when they are given some choices in their lives. It might seem unimportant to people who have their own dwelling places and can choose what they want to eat day after day, but for people who are used to being given a plate of food already prepared with foods they may or may not really want to eat, having a choice is a good experience. Affluent people just expect to be treated as individuals. Those who live in poverty very often expect that they will be treated as a nameless, faceless member of a homogenous group. As a community we can do better. 

I was grateful to be out and about today and grateful as well to see my friends and the members of my community including the many homeless or low income people who come to be with us. Along with all who live outdoors in the winter time, I am hoping that the rest of the winter will be mild and without the ice or freezing rain that makes their lives miserable. But if we need to open our doors again, I will be there -- unless of course I forget how to put my socks on!

The Human Family

It would be hard at this time of year not to reflect on family life. In my own family there were three major family holiday gatherings in two weeks. On December 12 my father's family gathered -- which means all of the people descended from my paternal grandparents. Then a week later my sister and brothers, and our children gathered followed by a gathering on Christmas Day with my children and their families. There were as usual lots of stories and opportunities to reconnect. And these stories set me to thinking not only about my own family but about some of the stories I have heard from my extended human family around the world. 

A year ago my youngest grandson was born 3 months early weighing only 3 pounds,  when my daughter, his mother, had complications that could have cost the lives of both of them --- except that we live in a wealthy country and she has medical care and was close to a very good neonatal care facility. My grandson was the tiniest infant I had ever held and I didn’t even get to hold him for nearly a month when he had reached 4 pounds. For a short while all hopes and dreams were limited to survival. Now he is busy trying to catch up with his peers, crawling and pulling himself up and working hard to walk and talk. He is very bright and his mommy is fine. Our family feels blessed.

Not too many weeks ago the world was shaken by a picture of the body of a little boy washed up on a coastal beach in Turkey. He had drowned along with his mother and brother while trying to escape conflict in Syria. Only his father survived. The family had hoped to go to Canada where they had relatives but the Canadian government turned down their request for a visa so the family opted for the more dangerous journey by sea into Europe.

After losing his whole family, which was his entire reason for risking the dangerous journey, the little boy's father went back to Syria along with the recovered bodies of his sons in order to bury them. He no longer hopes to leave. Instead, according to news articles, he is working with other refugee families trying to make their lives a little easier. His brother’s family however has been given the visas to Canada that he had hoped to gain. At least part of that little boy's family will have a chance to start a new life. 

Two weeks ago in New York City a janitor at Holy Child Church returned from his lunch hour to discover a tiny baby wrapped in towels and lying in the manger of the newly constructed nativity scene. His umbilical cord was still attached and he barely weighed five pounds. It seems his mother had determined that her infant son was better off in the care of the church than with her. New York has a law that allows parents to leave a child at a church, a fire station or hospital without any questions asked – this law is designed to for parents who do not want their child and might neglect or abuse the baby, or for parents who know they cannot possibly care for children but want them to live. Many people have applied to adopt the baby including some people from Holy Child Church. 

Last week I heard the story of an immigrant woman who was left in the Arizona desert after escaping desperate poverty and civil unrest in her home country. She had crossed the southern border into the United States. Too weak to walk any farther, she was left by the 'coyotes' - the men who guide people illegally over the border -- having only a small bottle of water and a flashlight to help her attract the border patrol - which would be her only chance of survival. She spent a night fending off two real coyotes who were apparently waiting for her to die. Seeing the coyotes eyes in the dark filled her enough fear to keep her going until she was picked up later the next day by the border patrol. 

After two weeks of rest and recuperation when her frantic family had no idea what had happened to her, the woman was able to join family members who had been anxiously waiting for her. She now has a work permit and is working to send money home for the care of her children who she had to leave behind. Leaving home was the only way she could think to care for them.
   

Just before Christmas a young man I did not know came to ask me for some bus tickets. He was hoping to go home for the holidays. I asked him where he was going thinking that he was going to ask for a greyhound ticket to someplace out of state, but he was only going to a suburban city. I handed him a city bus ticket thinking that surely his family would help him after he got there but he looked distressed and said: I hope they will let me in. So I asked if he would like another ticket just in case he was turned away. He said yes looking very relieved. I wished for him a Merry Christmas and told him I would keep him in my thoughts and prayers as he thanked me and headed out. 

Families are a microcosm of society at large. There are some warm and wonderful families that nurture and provide love, there are others that destroy the spirit and where members fail to thrive. There are families with more than they need and other families with nothing left to lose. But the health of families affects the health of all humanity. Healthy families nurture not only their own members, but the people who come into contact with them. Families that are unhealthy or struggling without assistance spread their distress to those around them. Everything is connected; if we want a world that is healthy, just and peaceful… we have to begin with the smallest unit of society. We begin in our own families but we are connected to the larger human family, which calls us to care for more than just our own. All people are part of our human family.

Living in close proximity and in relationship to others requires compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, along with the ability to forgive and above all to love. In addition we need to live the peace we want to see and have hearts filled with gratitude - which means contentment with what we have over and above our basic human needs.

Even in the best of times family life offers challenges. For families living in poverty, when the head of the household is unemployed, when there is serious illness or incapacity of some kind, challenges increase pressure on the bonds that hold the family together. In situations of war, natural disaster, or other violence, the bonds are further stressed.

All parents are given the responsibility of caring for their children, not as extensions of themselves, but as individuals with their own destiny. Parents have hopes and dreams for their children, but their particular gifts and talents along with the experiences that the child has not only in their family but in their growing social surroundings ultimately shapes who they will become, what opportunities they are given and the pathways open to them as adults.
 

Creating a world that gives children a chance to develop their unique gifts is the responsibility of all people – not just parents. Raising a child is never easy, and if a family is without shelter, food, medical care, education and a safe community in which to live the chances of being successful at parenting is severely limited. Maintaining a loving family environment is overwhelming if a parent or child is trying to cope with mental illness, emotional trauma or addictions on their own. Supporting family life by advocating for fair wages, along with meeting basic needs is in the best interest of all people. 

We are one Human Family. To thrive we must care for the all the vulnerable people and protect the Earth which is our home.