WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS TO ME

"I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. " ~Charles Dickens

For my part, I always want to remember the great moments of Christmas, that the moments that mean the most in coming years will always be ones filled with hope and gladness. In years to come, I want to mark Christmas 2014, as the year I truly gained a new respect for the true meaning of Christmas and hold that close to my heart all of the days of the coming year.

"Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home! " ~Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers, 1836

Received an email yesterday that make me think of more to say on the subject of Christmas and how one must get into the mood.:
1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-
depressant.2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to
__________ today.'
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured IN
plants.
5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli ,
almonds & walnuts.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.7. Don't waste your precious energy on energy vampires, issues of the past, negative
thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive
present moment.
8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed
out charge card.
9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good!
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.12. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
14. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
17. Forgive everyone for everything.
18. What other people think of you is none of your business.
19. GOD heals everything.20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.
Stay in touch!!!
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following
statements: I am thankful for __________.
Today I accomplished _________.
24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
25. Please send this to everyone you care about

Mind, the lovely lady who sent on this, is in the business of getting into your head and finding out what is wrong..........sounds to me as if she does it rather well, and the advice forwarded can apply all the year round.

"It is my hope that our paths will cross again soon. Till then it is my hope that your days with filled with peace, truth, and love, that you may continue your wonderful service to our community, the world we live in!!"

My dears, we shall meet again, the lovely lady and I..........need all of the help given to bring me back down to earth.

'Instead of being a time of unusual behavior, Christmas is perhaps the only time in the year when people can obey their natural impulses and express their true sentiments without feeling self-conscious and, perhaps, foolish. Christmas, in short, is about the only chance a man has to be himself. ' ~Francis C. Farley
 

My dears, Got Bless you, one and all!

IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT 'ME'...

Being 'au fait' as readers of me blog tend to be, they realize that what this old geezer writes about is LIFE.  Life that is seen through me eyes and lived, imperfect at times, but still lived.

However difficult life is at times, one is constantly amazed at how oft the door of opportunity swings open and begs one to have the courage to venture through that door.

Some time back, the old geezer took to the road of life in search of his 'safe harbour', a place where one could knock the dust of heavy times from trainers and collect thoughts and try to find inner peace.  A place to feel welcome and safe.  It would seem that relief from the burdens of everyday life comes at one from unexpected corners.  One never knows truly what lies ahead, round the next corner or in the welcome offered by a new friend in life.

I am lucky.  There always seems to be someone who takes a shine to and makes the journey worth the taking and all the more likely that one will come away with a much better feeling of self and a renewed joy in life. 

If one takes the time to listen to the stories told round one, one hears many a tale that mirrors one's own fight to make sense of life.  The mystery that seems to baffle one is really no mystery at all, the challenge of living life is one faced by more that self.  The trick seems to be to realize that some face the challenge better and come away the better for it.  That is not to say that scars are not got from the battle.

I have met  persons of late who makes me stop and take stock of what frightens me, what holds me back and what makes me feel low at times.  Some have led exemplary lives.  Had a life's work that provided a good living and provided a good retirement.  Most punched ticket in all of the right places.  Paid taxes, cared about community and tried to right what wrongs seen as they travelled down the road of life.

That is not to say that some have not suffered the tragic in life.  Paid a heavy price for being true to self.  Family was not as supportive as one would have liked and choices in who to love did not provide with a union that lasted all of their days.

The wounds received in one's youth tend to be the ones that never really heal proper.  They come back to haunt later in life.  Truth be told, this old geezer knows that all too well.

What should be the 'golden' period of life, is filled with much depression.  One wonders what it has all been for and what lies ahead.  As clever as one appears to be, one tends to think that there should be more.  As if there is still the possibility that days will be filled with the loudness of Christmas and Fourth of July.  There has to be more.
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The battle to make sense of what is now and what one hopes for is huge.  So thick is the smoke of battle that one tends to not see what already has been granted and to appreciate the bounty of it all.

In the past I have banged on about what ails me.  Some would think a little too loudly.  May well be more truth to that than am willing to lay claim to at times.

Whatever my problems, they are not so unique.  All one has to do is listen to voices round to know that we all suffer loss and want.  There are dark days enough to go round many times over.  Mind, one has to remember that the the sun always come back out.  So dark it is not that a ray of light does not brighten the future.

I oft wonder what is the point of life.  There have even been times that the thought of suicide seemed a perfect end to problems faced.  The cloud of depression is not unknown to me.

It may well be that the trick of me life is to be here for folks met who need to realize that however dark the present moment is, there are brighter days ahead.  Having faced so very many dark days, I know that to be so very true.  In some small way it might be possible to lend a helping hand to another in need of bucking up.

Life is not just about ME.  A life worth living is one that shares AND remembers that life lived is not a solitary experience.

I hope that my new friends chase away the ghosts of the past and comes to see the beauty they add to my world, because they have a place in it.

IHS OUTREACH COULD BE BETTER

After 30 years dealing with the homeless, IHS has name brand recognition, by the community at large and the 'at risk' members of the community served.  Truth be told, most believe that IHS feeds the hungry and provides a mat to sleep on to the homeless.  IHS is trying to be much more than that.

In chatting with Marc Alexander, Director of Community Relations and Development, Mr. Alexander mentioned multiple time how he and IHS was trying to reach out to the community.

The old geezer believes that IHS has made its mission very clear to the community at large.  How brilliant of a job IHS has done in reaching the clients it means to serve is open to discussion.

Did I mention how clean the shelter was?  Mind, the visit could have happened at low tide, but rather think that the on-going effort to make the shelter more user friendly is very real.

Hopelessness is 24/7.  IHS, like any of the other non-profits dealing with the homeless, needs to get out into the field more often, not just 9 to 5.

IHS has an outreach worker, actually two but only one is well know to this old geezer.  We will focus on the one.

Justin has some much compassion that it is plain to see, even for the most hopeless.  Justin collects information, offers help and lends a sympathetic ear to all met.  He has a real passion for the work.  Rather think that the clients he meets know that he has a personal interest in getting them to a safe harbour.  BUT, Justin only works Chinatown and only during certain hours.  There could be more like Justin.  There should be more like Justin.  IHS should try and reach homeless where ever.

The old geezer believes that this turf working is not in the best interest of the homeless.  The homeless move about.  Hence, non-profits need to do more outreach.

I believe that IHS can solve HOPELESSNESS.  One person at a time.  Give HOPE and you give a person a reason to live.  Give HOPE and a homeless person might take more interest in cleaning his or her body and clothing.  Give HOPE and a homeless person just might want to get help in improving life.

What do I know?  I am just an old man.  Actually, if every person who hears the call for help from IHS, or any other non-profit dealing with the homeless,  there would be buckets and buckets of HOPE.

IHS will never end hunger or homelessness.  It could end HOPELESSNESS.  In doing that, IHS could get many more of the at risk population, into a safer place.

NEW SHERIFF CLEANS UP IHS SHELTER

Marc Alexander - New Sheriff at IHS

Truth be told, Marc Alexander is the new Director of Community Relations and Development at IHS, the largest homeless shelter in Hawaii.  Being a clever old geezer, the above snap was found on the Internet and seemed perfect, to illustrate the new wind blowing through IHS and add a little colour to the personality of Mr. Alexander.

Monday afternoon, the old geezer paid a visit to the homeless shelter, at the personal invitation of the new sheriff.  The invite was made at the Homeless Awareness Conference, but at the time did not feel it was a real one.  Do you not realize that the old geezer can be a bit much at times?

Having paid the $45.00 to attend, the old geezer was hell bent on giving a piece of mind to folks felt to be less than Brilliant.  IHS was high on the list of folks not keen on and wanted to let that be known.  Mind, pedantic, shrill and full of hubris are but a few of the things thought of MOI, am well aware of how caustic folks can find the old geezer at times.  It is also true that the approach, while not met with undiluted pleasure by all, is very effective in getting into the tent to be heard...


It was believed by the old geezer that IHS was still guilty of many sins in dealing with the homeless.  The past was held up as present day status.  It had to be so, many of the homeless met told of how horrid the conditions were and the old geezer bought into the 'urban legend' about IHS.  Completely.

When an email was received from Mr. Alexander, gobsmacked as the old geezer was, it was the perfect opportunity to confirm for myself just how horrid IHS was in dealing with the homeless.  I wrote back to Mr. Alexander and told the gentleman that I would come with an open mind and see what was different.  Is it not true that 'no pancake is so flat that it does not have two sides'?

The old geezer arrived early for the tour with Marc Alexander.  This afforded MOI the opportunity to stand and observe the folks at the homeless shelter and check out the appeal of the courtyard and one of the common rooms.

In the past, the smell of urine, sweat, filthy clothes, caked on dirt was ripe.  To enter the courtyard was to reel back in shock at the smell that hung in the air.  Not just the courtyard but the entire building had a stale odor.

The courtyard was clean, very clean.  The clients sitting on the benches seemed to be clean and there was no one dressed in rags or urine soaked clothing.  The same applied to the common room entered.  The floor shined, furniture was clean and well maintained.  The loo, while old, was clean and there was no odor clinging to the walls.  Much impressed the old geezer was, not at all as it was.

In the car park, the clients seemed to be on best behaviour and did not give the impression of a dangerous place to catch a quick ciggie before the tour.

Mr. Alexander was prompt and the tour of the facilities went as scheduled.

There was no attempt to hide anything.  The sleeping areas were seen and the loos peeked into.  Information was free flowing.  IHS has new sleeping mats, not all but a goodly amount.  There were multiple bottles of cleaning solution available to the clients to make the mats safe to sleep on.  There were lockers a plenty for folks to safeguard valuables.

Mr. Alexander told of linen being available for the bunk beds.  Of clothing available for clients to change into after a refreshing shower.

The old geezer stands corrected.  IHS is not the "Black Hole of Calcutta".

After the tour, the old geezer sat down with the Sheriff of IHS and had a right good chin wag.

It is clear that IHS is trying to reach out and touch folks.  Truth be told, there never was any doubt that IHS is well known to the community.  Am not sure that the message is out there to many of the homeless in need of a safe harbour to re-build lives.  Too many bad stories are out there.

IHS does outreach in the Chinatown area, as well as the North Shore.  Waikiki seems to be the reserve of CareAVan, an outreach programme run by Waikiki Health Centre.  There in lies one of the biggest problems in reaching the homeless folks in need of the services of IHS.

Rightly so, Mr. Alexander points out the limits of cash available to do many things.  The old geezer mentioned to Mr. Alexander that the homeless are a group that moves about the island.  Sooner or later, many of the homeless will land in Waikiki.  Many of the most at risk.  Mentally ill men and women, Seniors, youths.  Clients with severe drug and alcohol problems will plague the beaches and neighbourhoods that cater to the visitors to our island.

They come to Waikiki to beg.  They are drawn to the bright lights and assumed 'safety' in sleeping at a bus stop or on a park bench.

Mr. Alexander agrees that outreach needs to be improved.  That homeless folks need to know that there is a safe place to go.  That there is a place dealing in HOPE.

To my mind, that is what IHS is all about.  HOPE.  Regardless of who does it, each and every person doing outreach to the homeless should be dealing in HOPE.  IHS is perfectly situated to get folks on the road to a new life.  They see the homeless first and can get the homeless connected to any other agency that can improve the chances of homeless men and women getting hopeful about the rest of their lives.

The old geezer offered to help in any way, to get more homeless aware of positive changes at IHS, to educate other concern individuals about positive contributions they can make as members of the community.  One does not need a title, or membership in a non-profit, to help a neighbour in need of help.

The old geezer is old fashioned.  I hardly know Mr. Alexander and did not want to use Marc in telling this tale.  So 'au fait' I am not with Mr. Alexander.

Being in a position of authority, Mr. Alexander and his massive sandbox are primed to get folks moving in the same direction as IHS.  It is not about turf, it is about 'what can I do to help YOU (the homeless), in so many words Mr. Alexander seems to get that.

The old geezer listened to what Mr. Alexander had to say.  Being able to read faces, the old geezer is of the opinion that Mr. Alexander listened as well.  He certainly took copious note of the chat...

I offered to help, one can do no more than that.

IHS should not have a single empty bed, More's the pity if it does.