Trying out being homeless could be a valuable learning experience, but you could raise your awareness in other ways, even if we don't fully understand unless we walk in their shoes for real.
My parents had a way of helping others that cracked my eyes open a little bit. A woman who used to work for my mother's family came to live with us when I was a baby and stayed with us for the rest of her life. One time fter she died, my mother brought home a homeless woman and took care of her for a couple of weeks. Another time, my parents took in a homeless teenager and my father gave him a job at the family business. My parents taught us children to be very hardworking, but to understand that misfortune can hit anyone.
One of the scariest times in my life was when I couldn't find a job. It lasted for years. So many job applications... so many rejections... so much debt. My parents helped us get by. In my retirement, I would like to help others who can't find work. Years ago, I learned to teach English as a second language; it might be good for me to go back to that.
I'm not sure why, but the original post reminded me of the book, The Yearling, in which a boy makes a series of choices that threaten his family's food supply, a vegetable garden. Oh, I see, I guess I did that, too. Thank you, MMM, for helping me learn how to reverse my fortunes. It's time now to plant my vegetable garden. (Sometimes I'm such a dope.)
