Extract
Making the Start
I began writing this book several years ago, motivated by finding work I’d done on “homelessness.” And then, this year I decided to rewrite it. A response to seeing again the tragic deaths of my sister and a very close friend, more than two decades ago, and being prompted by other events equally disturbing that were ripping at the hearts and souls of people close to me.
Homelessness was a good place to start, the “cast-offs” living on the streets or in cardboard boxes under bridges. Most for identifiable reasons – unemployable, substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence and many other personal and social issues. Some happy, but most living miserable lives, their days held together by a patchy network of “associates” and other acquaintances. But then, try and pull them out from where they are, and it can become a battle – the world beyond their squalor, foreign and foreboding, not a safe place – a contradiction posing many questions.
Taking a look, it’s not too difficult to see why people living on the streets are having a bad time, and acknowledging the contradiction, why most don’t feel good about themselves and their lives.
It’s not so easy, though, to understand why others who apparently have “much better and wholesome lives” can be equally unhappy, or feel bad about themselves. But then again, if you have the look, you will see they are no different to anyone else, you and me, and yes, there are lots of negative things that affect all our lives.
So, let’s start on the positive pathway to feeling good. Let’s start on changing your life for the better.
The First Part of the Journey
The first part of this journey requires your understanding of seven essential truths.
- “If you are having a bad time, well, there are many others out there, much worse off, some dealing with the hellish torments of a relentless and merciless world. So, spare a thought for others before banging on the wall. Spare a thought for those sleeping out under a thunderous sky, fighting the demons of the mind, struggling with the prisons they occupy.”
The second. You are not the only one who is feeling bad, and many others have the same problem.
- “If you are having a bad time, remember, you’re not the only one, and importantly, you are not alone.”
……………..continued