Tag Archives: Homelessness

Random Thoughts, Thought of the day, Thought's on World Issues

Helping those who are unable to help themselves

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018 The welfare of ourselves and our fellow human beings is not the responsibility of  the government, we are responsible for our own welfare and the welfare of others. If a brother or sister be unable to care for themselves be due to physical limitations or mental dysfunctions we are to provide as a group help and support for them. Even those who have made poor life choices we are to help, for to be human is to be imperfect and no one can boast about being flawless in character.

One person may not be able to help all those in need, but one person can make a difference for one in need and inspire others to join in on helping those in need.  We were commanded to love one another, part of loving one another is accepting the responsibility of being each others care giver and/or helper. We all have our ways of being able to help each other and it isn’t all about money, sometimes its about fellowship and other times just a place to rest ones head.

To those whom look down upon the needy and less fortunate, just remember that person you passed by and/ or felt contempt for could have been you or one of your family. Many of the homeless were at one time wealthy, successful and even well-respected individuals before they fell to poverty and misfortune. We as a society need to not only help those in need but provide a way for them to help themselves. As an old proverb once said :

”if you give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime. ~ Confucius”

Though Governments can help in feeding the hungry and housing the homeless it is only a temporary and expensive solution. We need to find ways to help those able to provide for themselves to do so and find better and more efficient ways of helping those who are unable to help themselves.

God bless and may love guide us all

Ray Barbier

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Green Issues, Random Thoughts, Thought's on World Issues

We are the stewards of this world we live in

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We are the stewards of this world we live in; we are responsible for the well-being of the planet and all living things on it. We are responsible for one another, be it friend, stranger and even foe. God gave us the gift of life and the gift of such a beautiful planet to call home along with the responsibility of caring for both. Somehow a lot of us forgot our responsibilities and/or our job of being stewards of this world. So much pollution is filling the air, covering the land and poisoning the water. There is too many hungry and homeless people and way too many children in poverty. When did we lose our way and how can we find our way back? How can we continue to pollute our planet and allow famine and homelessness to run rampant across our beautiful world? We can spend trillions of dollars on wars and dedicate such a large workforce to achieve victory but yet spare hardly any resources to combat the hunger and homeless in our own country and around the world. As precious as life is along with the beautiful and wondrous planet to live on we don’t seem to care that we are throwing it all away. Since there is so many of us humans on this planet we all can choose just one or two things to be responsible for in our stewardship and still make an impact. Not everyone can be in Greenpeace or be a political activist. Not everyone is cut out to be a social worker or volunteer. Choose your battle and be dedicated to its cause, be it feeding the hungry, helping the homeless, cleaning up your hometown or doing grassroots activism.

This is our planet to take care of and we should do the best we can to make it a better place. Governments only can do so much to change our world; the rest is up to us and the business sector. We need to pressure both the governments and businesses of the world into being more green minded as well as more charitable towards the less fortunate. Not so much by making laws but by our spending and voting habits as well as writing our representatives. We should educate our fellow stewards about the state of our world and how to make changes at a personal level as well as in the big picture. We as a species need to learn to accept and tolerate the differences between us as people in order to come together and make this world a better place for ourselves and our children.

The Children are the world’s greatest resource and they are our precious future.

Raymond Barbier

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Health, Random Thoughts, Thought of the day, Thought's on World Issues

Most of us are only one or two paychecks away from being homeless

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015  Now that winter time is here it is time to start to think about those who are at high risk during cold and severe winter weather. Neighbors, relatives and friends that may be up in age that need to looked after during snowstorms. Simple things as getting them groceries and making sure they have adequate blankets as well as water. There is also the homeless that need warm clothing, food and blankets if not help finding a local shelter. The local shelters also need supplies including food to take care of those in need. Even if you have very little to give or you have a busy schedule you can afford to give a few minutes of your time or a few pieces of clothing you no longer need or want. You can always get your church or organization to start a food drive or campaign to aid those in need. The least one can do is drop off a donation at a local church or non profit to help. Just remember most of us are only one or two paychecks away from being homeless so with that in mind help those that are.

 

May god bless you in This new year of 2012 and may you share the blessings with others.

Raymond Barbier

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Random Thoughts

Just some babbling about the self and happiness

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014 I often have wondered what is the secret to a happy life and for the most part the answers seemed to change with each situation I experienced during the course of my life. So needles to say the answers I thought were correct were just reflections or shadows of the true secret. The real question is if there is a secret to living a happy life or not. Obviously no one can be happy 100% of the time and I am not even sure that only one secret or answer could be found to the question.  The main thing I have learned is one must let go of the prioritization of the self and its desires. The self is the most time and resource consuming part of being a sentient being. Since the self must exist in order for one to be self aware / sentient then we must learn to restrain its ever present demanding voice.

The tendency for humans to be selfish and self centered is basically a natural part of our psyche and though it can not be totally avoided it can be muffled or muted. Therefore Discipline of the mind is also one of the secrets of a happy life, for without mental discipline the self would become center of all and selfishness would be the main controlling factor in our daily lives. To sustain the self and to take care of its needs is something we must do, but to fulfill its wants and desires is something we can all together control or avoid. The self  usually is like a little child who is spoiled and gets all he or she wants with no restriction. In a disciplined mind the self learns that not all it wants will be fulfilled and that there is higher priorities that must be focused on.

Having concern for the welfare of others seems to be somewhat instinctual to most humans though I have noticed a few people who seem to have no concern for others. This is probably because they allow the self to take high priority to the point of selfishness and become apathetic to the concerns of things that are not of any benefit to themselves. For most of us though the welfare of others usually plays at least a small part in our lives if not a major one. Being social creatures that seem to group up to survive and thrive makes the welfare of others a necessity in maintaining the group.

Maybe a lot of the problem in modern society is that not everyone has a social place, there is a lot of people who are just transient social outcasts. People that are either not accepted by the social circles of modern society or who never could find where they belong. Without purpose socially they seem to either become a social ostrich or turtle by hiding their head in the sand and or retracting into their protective shell. This makes them feel unwanted or unneeded so they float from one social circle to the other having no purpose or destination.

So I guess the secret to happiness is to find your place in society and be needed as well as being satisfied with what blessing you have. To care for others and put the self second to the more important things of life. Maybe there really isn’t no real secret or just one formula to happiness, maybe the secret is to find your own path to walk.

Well enough of my truly random thoughts and babbling

Peace

Raymond Barbier

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