Are your eyes focused?

Sometimes we see things that we think are in front of us because our mind is telling our eyes what to believe.

However, we are often wrong when we judge a person for the clothing they wear, the place they call home or even the children they raise.

What we think we may see of the shaggy clothes that drape from a mans body are perhaps the only clothing he has. In seeing those tattered rags, we may come to the conclusion that he is on drugs, an alcoholic or mentally mad. While all three of those ideas could be 100% spot on, do you ever ask what caused such? 

If we stop to find out what caused madness and / or addiction and recognize them as symptoms as opposed to the main problem - then we start to understand more and see a much larger picture. Then... our eyes become focused as our imagination takes a pause. 

“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”

— Mark Twain

Broken Vegas

The faces on the streets of Las Vegas... some young, some old, some desperate, some excited.

Love Vegas or hate Vegas... you can see the painful side of it by simply walking out of your hotel.

“I only ever play Vegas one night at a time. It’s a hideous, gaudy place; it may not be the end of the world per se, but you can certainly see it from there.”

— Robin Williams

Just be yourself today

Be yourself, regardless of who others believe you should be.

Perhaps you're a dreamer? So dream.
Maybe you are a doer? Go and do. 
Are you a fixer? Start fixing.

Be yourself.

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." —Dr. Seuss

The Escape

I took this photo in 2014 and it remains one of my favorites. 

The look in his eyes is of a faraway place that I cannot relate. His appearance is scattered as are his thoughts. 

He stood outside of a downtown Nashville skyscraper at midnight and he told me that we were standing in a desert. 

His sandy blonde hair floated in the breeze as he went on to tell me about his spaceship and then pointed to the window of a nearby business. Inside was a computer that had a screen saver of a commercial jet on it. He said that was his spaceship.

“This is a man in need. His fear is naked and obvious, but he's lost. . . Somewhere in his darkness. His eyes wide and bleak and tortured.” ― E.L. James

Epileptic and on the Streets

Brenda has been on the streets since April of 2015. She told me that she landed on the streets because of life. 

“I have five kids and me and their dad didn’t get along and his mamma wouldn’t let me come back home,” she explained to me. Brenda then said, “I’m epileptic and I have been cut off by TNCare.” I asked if she has had any seizures in recent days after she told me that she has been without medication for quite some time and she responded,  “I had two last night and three about three days ago.”

“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” - Flannery O'Connor

Life is not always glory filled

Between dirty roach infested motels, battling cancer and life – some people do not choose the course they are on. Circumstances place them there.

Imagine battling an illness that is winning and sometimes sleeping on a bed and other times, sleeping on the street. That is life for many that we overlook.

“When you hear the word 'cancer,' it's as if someone took the game of Life and tossed it in the air. All the pieces go flying. The pieces land on a new board. Everything has shifted. You don't know where to start.” - Regina Brett (American Author)