The situation of men and women who are experiencing homeless in our state and across the nation has become more apparent since the pandemic of 2020.  Individuals and families have fallen from situations of housing stability resulting from increased housing costs, medical problems, and an inability to find work commensurate to what was previously earned pre-pandemic. Men and women from various backgrounds are now in the lived experience of homelessness. In the state of Arkansas, 2,459 persons experience homelessness, finding some form of relief within either emergency shelters or transitional housing (HUD 2022, Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Program Data). The lived experience of homelessness is a touch point regardless of gender, ethnicity, or health situation. 

​Persons who are experiencing homelessness possess what John F. Crosby describes as being “persons who are unrepeatable” (Crosby, 2019).  Individual persons who have found themselves standing on street corners to secure coins for hotel stays, who are accessing various local nonprofit and faith based services in our county, or sitting in a public school, are not to be lost in the category of homelessness. These individual persons can not be replaced as objects nor ignored to satisfy our individual comforts. Rather, these persons possess an outstanding unrepeatable quality which translates into 2,459 individual stories and experiences.  Individuals who possess a dignity and richness which is obscured by our focus on the experience and the associated stereotypes. Crosby asks each of us to take a moment and look beneath the tired eyes, the aroma, and the disruptive classroom behavior to see the unique quality of the person before our eyes.

I was particularly moved the events in Memphis but I was not surprised.  The duly elected men of Memphis were charged with the authority and responsibility to serve as agents to reinforce safety and offer protection acted in manners which resembled hyenas descending upon a vulnerable cub.  Even now in my description, I have ventured into the realm of dehumanization.  The event was not surprising but has actually startled me as a growing empathy was for those who left their own humanity for reasons we have yet to fully comprehend. 

A thriving pluralistic society depends on healthy interactions between individuals who are similar yet different.  In our society, we are similar and I believe this to be so on the basis of our shared humanity. Human beings possessing the imago Dei and as such are persons. Romano Guardini, stated, “ “person” means that I cannot replaced by anyone else, that I am unique.” Individuals traversing our world are unique persons who are invaluable and possess a place in this vast adventure of life. Simultaneously, individuals are different. I am unique. You are unique. You and I diverge on the road of life to pursue interests, ideas, loves, and passions to discover purpose and meaning. The beauty of the human experience occurs when individuals with shared attributes and dissimilar interest come together to accomplish small and great feats. A more important feat occurs when individuals establish a relationship of mutuality and trust. I would hope individuals would see humanity in one another. 
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Our nation, and I really do not want to sound hyperbolic, is facing a crisis of humanity.  There is a strong possibility this crisis has a strong correlation to the events of the past few years. Separation, millions confronting mortality, and increased mental health difficulties, have obscured our vision of the individual next door. The necessity of healthy social relationships have proved beneficial to the flourishing of a human being, yet when interrupted or threatened, problems can arise.   Our perception of the individual who shares not only DNA but the fundamental character of being can not be clearly seen and as such, individuals choose to respond in ways, which in the long term, can prove detrimental.

Karol Wojtyla (1920-2005) noted personalist philosopher, who was canonized as Pope Saint John Paul II from 1978-2005, committed himself to the affirmation of the dignity and worth of human beings. Human beings created in the image of God who are called to full fellowship in the life of our generous God.  Wojtyla identifies the moral actions of a person cultivate experiences of growth in him or herself. The human experience is a combination of an individual acting and acting upon another. The person discovers the core of who he or she is by freely acting in accordance with truth and the reality of our world. 

Now as human beings we experience our individual existence in the context of some type of organization.  Human flourishing depends on interpersonal relationships which include the free exchange of information and material. As image bearers of God we live in a tension between unique individuality and shared participation within some type of organized group.  The individual recognizes his or her unique existence and chooses to offer unique contributions in support of the group, more acutely in support of the flourishing of the other. Human beings freely acting for personal and group benefit maintains "the attitude that allows man to find the fulfillment of himself in complementing others" (Wojtyla, p. 284-285). 

This coming year as you attend your daily activities, reflect on the dignity you possess as a human being created in the image of God. The capacity you possess to act in manners which correspond to truth can have significant ramifications on the growth of your personal life and equally shape how you view men and women who are experiencing the most difficult of circumstances. Pope Saint John Paul II reminds individuals of a significant truth regarding our existence as human beings and prayerfully, I hope this truth would stir the reader to act in ways which demonstrate growth in the and the promotion of generosity to those less fortunate wherever you live.


Note: 

Wojtyla, K. (1979). The Acting Person. Dordrecht, Holland: D. Reidel Publishing Company. 

It is mid-April and I have recently come to grips with a level of anxiety which I find my mind existing. I wake up and initiate my usual routine and at some point in the day I recognize I am existing mentally at a level which is fully of anxiety and heaviness. This anxiety is responding to something which is in the shadows and the awareness of its existence has only now provoked within me the courage to name this shadowy and monstrous figure. 

In the depths where I find myself at some point during the day, the monster whispers out of the darkness, “It will not matter,” “Speak and write whatever your hearts desire.. I will consume your words immediately.” There are moments I call into question my own purpose. All of the readings, dissection of information and communicating on podcast and videos prompt me to ask in my isolation, “Will this actually make any difference in the long run?” I am simultaneously fearful and angry when I find myself in this mental space.  I am angry because I know who I am, what my purpose is, and those words which call me to be courageous in the face of fear.  Yet the fear evoked by despair is present, influencing me to believe all of my efforts are for nothing. 

One day while in my monthly visits to the local bookstore, I purchased David Blight’s Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom. I am as familiar with Mr. Douglass as I am with a close friend.  I have read his autobiography and shared it with young people I mentor.  This time though in the pages of Blight, the prophet’s voice came to me as a strong friend in the depth of despair. In the moment he assisted me in naming the monster in the darkness.  The monster I see in the darkness with its foul breath and piercing eyes, “You are slavery!” 

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Our world possesses so many great works of artistic expression. There are musical pieces, paintings, pottery pieces which have stood the test of time influencing the development of whole academic courses around a singular artist or time period. I view particular comic book issues in a similar fashion.  There are some issues such as Action Comics #1 with the first appearance of Superman, Detective Comics #27 with the first appearance of Batman, or the panel imagery of Captain America facing off against Iron Man at the height of Marvel Comics Civil War, all creating indelible impressions within the comic book universe but also touch real life. 

An artist painstakingly offers her present self to produce some item which gives insight into her. He or she has committed him or herself to a craft, which over time, produces a work of art which is the culmination of who they are and what he or she observes in the world. This is not a  task to be taken lightly as he or she must assess what present pleasure is worth offering so a more valuable outcome justifies the present release. The creation of something beautiful will make a demand and each of us must determine if we are capable and willing to make the exchange. 
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Now you may not be an artist.  Your personality and disposition may lead you to some other type of vocation or calling which is not necessarily related to the subjectivity of art, music, or writing. You're “artistic” expression may be the home, as an entrepreneur, academic, or athlete.  Whatever the case, each of us possess an opportunity by the simple reason of our individual existence to take hold of a series of elements and create something which can influence someone to become his or her better self. This “something” can be a beautiful expression of who we are as individuals and how we observe the world.  I am offering myself and this will be difficult as I must reach within myself and bring into reality what I have determined to be precious. To create and live out our individual purposes will be challenging and it will never be without cost.  

Focus on the present. The Jewish teacher said tomorrow has its own problems. Pay attention to the work of your hands and how you feel as you work on that one thing of beauty. Pay attention to how you respond in the moment of a finished detail. Creating something of beauty and worthwhile which is the expression of who you are in this life speaks volumes about the individual you are becoming in this world. The demands, again if you are willing, will be great but also consider like all great works of art, those demands will purchase a creation of your hards which can be meaningful and inspiring. 
Reach your hands into the clay like a potter. You're digits will be sullied and calloused shaping a work of art which will offer an opportunity to those who pass by to say, "That is beautiful." 

The last two years have admittedly been difficult. Individuals from all walks of live have experienced varying levels of difficulty regarding sickness, financial challenges, occupational difficulties, and social interactions. In my estimation, I would not seek to compare nor weigh which difficulty was greater than the other.  Individuals for a number of reasons confront difficulties in different ways but what is clear, individuals experience suffering. 

​Suffering impacts the physical, emotional, and internal self. An individual in the experience of suffering faces the dark night of the soul, taking the moment or long moments to assess him or herself.  I may not like what I see within myself.  The thoughts swirling in my head may be negative working to pull me further down into this seeming ocean of difficulty. At the same time, I may find within myself a determination which I did not know existed within me. It is this second revelation I want to offer as a precious find. 

​Suffering is hard. It is rough and such items can act as a serving instrument to reveal what is underneath. The rough and rugged experience of suffering acts in service to our individual lives to reveal what has always existed.  What can be revealed is determination, patience, boldness, or a number of other human characteristics which exemplify the beauty of the human soul.