By Ben
I have always felt lucky, privileged, I am grateful for the simple things. Moving to London to live made me see exactly how privileged I was. Homelessness in London is prolific here. The numbers of people here without a home is a shock and when you see it every day it makes you realise exactly how fortunate you are. It is a catastrophic truth that people become accustomed to the homeless in London. It has become a part of every day life for Londoners, not for me. I will never get used to it.
COMPANY
That’s Martin, sat next to me in the photo up there. Martin lives nearby, often sleeping near the sound of the running water by the canal. He sleeps under an old viaduct which now holds the DLR train line. I speak to Martin nearly every week (sometimes daily) and try to spend 5 minutes just catching up. It is a selfish exercise for me, I recognise that. I want to learn how he manages to survive, how he sees society and the thousands of people who walk past him every day.
One of the biggest fears in modern life is the apocalypse that may arise from the selfish destruction of our planet. Understandably people all over the globe are now rallying to prevent that possible world with mass demonstrations. But the truth hurts, and the truth is that the homeless amongst us are already living in the post apocalyptic world that we fear most. Many have been for a long time.
So, that world is staring us in the face and we have ignored it for so long. How could we ever hope to solve it on a larger scale? Or will we solve it and it will help all of us? Not just those with a vested interested in big business, power and money?
“The post apocalyptic world many fear is a reality for many”
TRY IT SOMETIME
So, is it enough to realise that the world we dread is already here? Not for me, I recognise now that every time I see someone living on the street it is a reflection of the worst in me. We ARE all connected and their suffering is my own suffering and it makes me want to help. I have learnt more about myself talking to Martin, and similarly people like him. I learn more from the homelessness in London than I ever will from an office meeting, a PowerPoint presentation or what the tabloids tell me. Try it, you might be surprised what you may realise.
Realiser was born from a dream to be in a realised state, a state of awaken. To be able to see the most obvious things having missed them for so many years. Subsequently I wanted to create something to serve as an example of how it could be. If only we might spend the time loving that we spend hating. Above all spending the time to be kind to others for no reason. You get the idea. I will travel around doing what I can and would love for you to join me. Follow my path here…
