Justin

I decided to take a seat and then I met Justin. After a short jog from my house to the park, I decided to sit in the grass and relax underneath the sun.

I have been living in a accelerated pace for the past three years and I know I need to make space for quiet. So I just decided to take a sit and breathe.

Sit, and breathe.

Surely if I can do that everyday I will have more tolerance for stress. Most people try to avoid stress but unfortunately I can’t afford the luxury. I love being an entrepreneur, taking risks, building teams and with that comes stress. So I accept stress: it enables me to live a happy life. But I need to make space for quiet.

It was then that I saw Justin hopping over the fence of the park’s children play area.

He was struggling to put his pants up and had his shoes on his hands. He was agitated and you could easily see he was drunk. He stumbled on his way and somehow decided to approach me.

Then he asked if he could sit next to me for a while. Of course Justin.

Justin had watery eyes and looked like a wreck. While he struggled with his shoes I noticed he had nothing else but an ID card and some tobacco. He was homeless, drunk, sad and desperate. And he had just woken up.

(I’ve been in that place before. I know that place Justin. We begin again my friend, we don’t give up.)

So we talked. He had walked away from home. He told me about his mom. About his Portuguese cousin. I told him I lived around the area. Told him I had two kids. I told him about the lowest points in my life: About every single time I hit rock bottom. Then I told him I had met many other people that did wonderful things coming from a place of despair.

When we have nothing to loose and everything is on the line you learn that the only big risk in life is to miss out on living. So get back on your feet Justin, work hard, and wish for good luck.

This is the real life for the unsheltered. For those who had it hard. Those who still have it hard. For those who drink themselves to sleep because they would be too afraid to do it otherwise. An easy life is not a beautiful life. You learn when challenged. And sometimes that comes with immense amounts of pain. So get back up again Justin. Begin again my friend.

One of the many hypocrisies of today’s world. Our world is shaped by people that once had nothing to loose and made brave decisions in the face of adversity. The troublemakers. The foolish ones. It’s the inventions of those very same people that fuel today’s wealth inequality and increased unemployment. Because in a capitalist society the only thing you can win is money. And money is the worse possible reward.

I’m sure most entrepreneurs would go out of their way to find a safer place for Justin to sleep. So he didn’t have to cry himself to bed with whiskey at age 16. But instead we helped build a society that offers him no shelter. A society we criticize but explore. A society where we accept inhumanity as a side effect of us being happy lives. And I am as guilty as everyone else.

I asked Justin why that park. He told me it was the park of his childhood. He used to walk those paths when he was just three years old. He used to go see the animals with his family. Play ball with his dad.

This where the desperation came from: everything he believed was safe had failed him. The park was a reminder of feeling safe. He has lost that feeling for good.

Personally, I have no almost memories of being a child. But I remember the feeling, the moment, the smell of the first time I lost safe. I remember the water fountain close by, the pavement, the ocean in the background. There and then, I knew I was by myself. I was seven.

We all have to find our own path. I told him about being calm in the face of adversity, staying positive. I told him about being resilient. Not giving up.

Begin again Justin.

Sometimes it’s more important to find your own balance and take a breathe, especially when the world falls apart.

Sit, and breathe Justin.

Justin is me. And Justin walked away.

Good luck Justin.