After completing a mound of paperwork, I decide it is about time for a licuado so I begin makng my way towards the neighborhood panderia on Maple and Adams.
Along the way, I always pass by this abandoned, decrepit house on the corner of 29th and Maple. There are all kinds of mattresses and old couches in the yard; it has become the “homeless home.” Without fail there are several men congregating in the yard. The strong stench of beer wafts my way as I walk on past.
“Where do they sleep when it rains?” I wonder. The doors and windows are boarded up so they can’t possibly sleep inside the house. I shoot a closer glance out of the corner of my eye as I walk on past, invisible, when I notice some kicked out crawl spaces. "They don’t sleep in the house when it rains, they sleep under the house!“ runs my epiphineal inner dialogue. This is no life to live, is it?” I continue conversing with myself. But then I consider the stray dogs. Could these men be experiencing true freedom? Maybe I’ve sold my freedom in exchange for security? Now I’m locked into the confinements of a 9-to-5 routine while they can do whatever they want, whenever they want! I try to consider this for at least a moment.“...Nah, forget that.”
Their malodorous mutterings slowly fade as I proceed to shuffle forward towards my daily fix: a strawberry-banana licuado.
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Freedom.
Jesus had nowhere to lay His head. He didn't have a mortgage to pay. Thus, he had the freedom to get up at a moment's notice to minister. To me, freedom needs to be connected to something meaningful. If it's merely about self, the hole that prompted the desire to be released from bonds will never be filled. We all need meaning and purpose, no matter how free we are.
Unrelated thought....
Though the stray dogs and the homeless have an appearance of freedom, they have an innate need to maintain a sense of connection to their fellow human/canine. The pack of dogs. The group of homeless living under a house. None want freedom from connection. Those that do are the unfortunate castaways. That lonely stray dog is most likely diseased. That singular homeless person pushing a cart is typically mentally disabled.
The healthy in mind and body are never truly free.
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