Tag Archives: Hope

Status report: A snapshot of my life right now

August 20, 2020Get on your feet, Justice, Thursday postsAttribution, Here - Now - Can, Hope, Keep the focus on you, Presence, Race, The Homeless Blogger, Upward mobilityWilliam Tell

On Tuesday 12/02, my therapist asked for a thumbnail summary of my overall situation.

I said, “I have goals, I’m taking concrete steps toward those goals, and I have a ton of hope.”

I know no way to account for this but the exact scenario I set forth in “Chaos overwhelms the poor:” I pay attention only to the concrete here-and-how, and to what I myself can do. (Related: Here – Now – Can.) From the farthest reach of my right fingertip to my right, to the farthest reach of my left fingertip to my left: within that range lies all my responsibility, everything that I can control. Here, the world appears orderly. Here, I can order and manage my affairs. Here I have power. I can act effectively. I can easily find hope.

A ton of hope.
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Hope for black America

December 29, 2018Dependency, Get on your feet, Justice, OUR BEST POSTS, The William Tell ShowBarack Obama, Edgar Cayce, Gay marriage, Grief, Hope, Political correctness, Race, Racism, Responsibility, WorkWilliam Tell

A better life is available to you.
If you want it, and will work for it,
you can have it.

I will recite that often on The William Tell Show. It’s the sort of thing one hears from Barack Obama.

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A star is born

June 11, 2018Career goals, Motivations, OUR BEST POSTS, The William Tell Show"Vincent", Alan Christian, Autonomy, Don McLean, Hope, Joe Lombardo, Mister Rogers, Phil Gardner, Richard Basehart, Ron Smith, Vincent van Gogh, WBALWilliam Tell

The genesis of William Tell

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Issues with upcoming posts II

December 23, 2017Bible, Get on your feet, Homelessness, Motivations, OUR BEST POSTS, Poverty, The Way of PeaceChaos, Cross-bearing, Despair, Hope, Matthew 5:14-16, Upward mobility, What Is, WorkWilliam Tell

Part I: Issues with upcoming posts

If I’ve learned anything in the past two years, it’s this:

(1) The Way of Peace works, and my calling is to walk this way. But it takes work that I’m not always willing to do. Call it cross-bearing.
(2) A large portion of the poor will inevitably be poor forever.
(3) No one can prescribe another person’s dreams.
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Resentment and hope

October 1, 2016HomelessnessAcceptance, Ambrose Worrall, Choosing feelings, Essay on Prayer, Hope, Need, Neediness, Race, Racism, Resentment, Shalom, Silentium Altum (Deep Silence), Take things in stride, Your Heart's DesireWilliam Tell

Three incidents from Sunday 09/18:

(1) I caught the racial vibe as soon as she came in the room.

(2) In the middle of worship, I looked at my situation. I needed to touch base sometime during the service with _____, _____ and _____, any of whom might give me cash; for smokes, bus fare and candy. I also needed to touch base sometime during worship with each of three other people ISO a ride “home.” My petty, material, selfish neediness so preoccupied me, I couldn’t get into the spirit of worship at all. This did not feel good.

(3) At the shelter, in the shower, for a washcloth they gave me a strip of fabric that had been torn from a towel, two inches wide and six inches long. That was to be my washcloth.

I responded as follows.

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* Hope and vision

February 26, 2016Get on your feet, Homelessness, Jacob's Ladder, Job search/Job prospects, Motivations, OUR BEST POSTS, SqualorHope, Prayer, Transitional housing, Upward mobility, VisionWilliam Tell

As of March 7, I will have been homeless five years.

This morning I took first concrete steps to get myself into transitional housing.

This is essential if I’m to get job. For some time, I’ve been living off life insurance policy proceeds, but in the near future, that money will run out. It’s urgent that I get an income.

The shelter where I’ve been staying is extremely comfortable, perhaps too comfortable, but it has very rigid hours that make it nearly impossible to hold a job while one stays there. Currently, having to carry my two heavy bags and backpack with me wherever I go, severely limits my ability to commute. Transitional housing will spell having a place where I can stash my stuff, and freedom to come and go as I please. I will, for example, be able to take a night job.

Related: Obstacles to my prosperity

Continue reading * Hope and vision →