Isolation Is For Cowards

A sturdy craft, the ocean breeze in my face, a cooler of beer, and a cigar... maybe some snorkeling gear and a spear... fishing pole would be nice... hat and sun glasses isn't too much to ask for right? Alone, just me and the ripples of the ocean tide. A great visual as I overlooking the Pacific enjoying the breeze while on break from helping a friend out with his production business. Alas though it seems my fate is leading me another direction, people.

Again recently, and seemingly a repetitive subject in my life, I have come to a stage in life that my years of mistakes, trials and tribulations, and the many adventures I survived has made me a certified keeper of some useful life knowledge as well as having the ability to understand situations people find themselves in. Because of this alone I now feel compelled to keep putting myself in places that put generally don't like people.

I was shown that my life is not so bad so maybe I should take it all in stride and stay the course. In the same conversation I was reminded how quickly your world can turn upside down. A gentleman came to my wife's church this past Sunday, directed there by an area gas station, just to get out of the cold for a while. He was out and about because this past Friday night the place he was staying in burned down as he was asleep after a hard day's work running electrical as the new Samsung facility they are building in town. He barely got out alive and was without even a single of what we consider essentials today; car keys, wallet, or cell phone. He arrived at church wearing clothes given to him by a thrift store Saturday morning. No family in town, no ID, and no money, and no car because the keys were in the house. How quickly his entire life was turned upside down. We got him a little more squared away at church with basic hygiene products, snacks, and various other necessities. I gave him a heavy weight BC hoodie (the black one from a couple years back) and what cash I had. After the services were done I gave him a ride to the nearby library for internet access so he could start putting his life together again. What stood out to me from this entire endeavor was his only request was to get out of the cold.

Just wanted to share a little perspective, maybe even a call to be a better human to humans that deserve it, as we head into another crazy year.