Practicing

Sunday I got the opportunity to start practicing radical hospitality, the act of going above and beyond to show compassion and make someone feel welcome. As Arial and I were walking back home from our errands, we passed a homeless man who smiled and called out to us. I had already smiled to him (as I try to acknowledge the humanity of whomever I pass at that basic level) when we crossed paths before we entered Goodwill, but this time he asked for $1.47 to get to where he needed to go. I actually did have a couple ones on me, and handed them to him.

That man said we made his day and that he was supposed to ask us for help – he shared, "It's humbling, you know," and as his father had told him, “The only dumb question is a question not asked.” He started heading our same direction as that was also where he needed to go, and in a few minutes of conversation, I learned he was also from Minnesota because he was just looking for a bar to sit outside of and listen to the Vikings game. He said he would never go back to Minnesota to live, but he would go back to visit. He asked me, and I said I was unsure where life would take me. I do not know how he ended up in Tucson, but in the scheme of things, it seems to be an easier (if not more popular, for lack of better wording) place to live as a homeless person given the warm climate and available charities and social services. And by easier, I am in no way intending to make light of homelessness, but merely point out that it is simply impossible to survive in my home state in the winter without shelter. This city actually expects an influx of homeless residents during the winter months, but I do not have any sort of statistics on percentage of the city's population, only anecdotal evidence that homelessness is more visible for this size of town than I expected. Imagine you were this man, homeless in Duluth, Minnesota, off the shore of Lake Superior, as he told me. I'd try my luck down here too. 

Perhaps the simple act of giving money to someone on the street is not what you would call radical hospitality, but for me it is. 

First, I had to get over my general nervousness and awkwardness around strangers (I do not want shyness to be taken as being unapproachable or standoffish) and to answer this man's question as I would want to answer any question asked with respect. Had he not asked, and had I turned him away like it is so easy to do, we would have never learned anything from each other.

Second, I see this action within a broader framework of combating compound social exclusion. He probably has been excluded from mainstream society once by not being able to find work we consider valuable enough to pay a living wage, and perhaps he had other mental health issues that I could not ascertain in that short time. As if that layer of struggle to find worth and dignity is not enough, we further marginalize people by not wanting to talk about mental health issues and thus addressing them through a social service network, by casting them aside as the "other," and at the most conscientious level, when we pass each other on the street, we often do our best to avoid them rather than showing hospitality and sharing a connection as people, however brief.
 
May we not forget that society is a collective of individuals – individuals that can make conscientious decisions such as taking thirty seconds or five minutes to extend kindness and compassion to someone for whom that has probably been repeatedly denied.


How can you practice radical hospitality to someone in your own life, and perhaps someone you do not even know? 

On a lighter note, as driven and reflective as my work environment is, one amazing practice they are trying to implement is five-minute exercise breaks three times daily. Here's a funny photo that my coworker Alex got of us attempting some yoga yesterday!

After some frustration over the wider world that I cannot control, more specifically two political letdowns today that do not directly affect me but they do because they affect the health of our people (see my P.S. for the ten-second versions), what I can control is how I choose to work (which is a privilege) and what I choose to celebrate (this anyone can do!). Today I'm thankful for yoga and exercise breaks with my team at work. I'm thankful for the chance to see via Skype my significant other's face that is significantly far away. I'm thankful for getting surprised on the phone by not just one Carleton bestie, but five who all happened to be in Northern California together for one night. I'm thankful for a doorframes for climbing and a hallway long enough for cartwheels (and potentially bowling). I'm thankful for extended housemate hugs, communal decision-making, and roommate dates.

There are so many things I want to write about, but I'm also going to practice what my dear novio (and anyone else who knows me well) has to remind me, to not spread myself too thin and go to bed. 

¡Buenas noches!
Kathryn



P.S. If you wanted to know why I was upset with the political world, these are two topics I need to go more in-depth on in futures posts, but here's the brief spiel: 

1) The House voted to cut $40 billion dollars over ten years from the SNAP (food stamp) program. This is a program that expands and contracts based on need, and when one out of six Americans are dealing with hunger and food insecurity, how can we afford not to support getting food (and good food) on the tables of the most vulnerable? Thankfully the Senate and House have to come together to pass a unified bill, so if it's on your heart to prevent these devastating cuts to this program that really does save lives, I urge you to sign petitions and email/call your representatives soon and often!

2) Good job California last week for expanding drivers' license opportunities to DREAMers! However... my new state of residence swung the complete opposite direction. New AZ legislation actually expands a driver's license ban to bar not only DACA recipients (undocumented youth who came to the U.S. before the age of 16 and who applied for and received this 2-year provisional status), but additionally, "the expansion would deny licenses to immigrants who have been allowed by the federal government to remain in the country for humanitarian reasons. They include survivors of domestic violence and victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.. One of the additional categories subject to the extended ban covers immigrants without sponsors, among them victims and witnesses to crimes." As my momma taught me, "If you have nothing kind to say, say nothing at all," so because I am still a little bit livid about this, I'm going to sleep on it, formulate my thoughts, and pass this article on to you: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/19/us-usa-arizona-immigration-idUSBRE98I02Y20130919

Okay, good night for real!