Am I My Brother's Keeper?

The Internet allows us to maintain a degree of anonymity that ironically, makes us willing to reveal far more of ourselves than if we met at some social event or public outing.  In this journal, I talk about my insecurities, something I rarely do even with my closest friends and certainly not with people that are acquaintances.  I think it is the veil of anonymity that makes so many of us willing to share who we are and that leads to forming bonds with people that we've never met face to face, but whom we count as friends.  I feel fortunate that I've actually had the opportunity to meet two of those people in person, dear Bea and Caroline.  There are others of you that I have not met, but I feel a connection to you nonetheless.

I want to tell you about my friend River.  He is a member of J-Land and I don't know his name, other than River.  It suits him; he runs deep like a river. We've never met, but I count him as a friend.  I like visiting his journal because it is full of charity, of love for humankind. River has been absent from J-Land for the past few months and has recently returned.  I didn't want to pry, but I noticed that at the top of his journal there was a count: 79 days homeless.  That was three days ago. Perhaps because the Internet allows us to skip some of the amenities of societal interaction, I sent him an email and asked directly if he was homeless.  Like the gentleman that he is, he promptly responded and confirmed that he was indeed referring to his own homelessness.

Today I visited River's journal and he has chosen to share his story with us.  I admire his bravery in doing so; he is a private person and I am not certain that if were in his shoes that I would be so brave.  River lives in Las Vegas, and he has gained access and insight to the homeless in that city of excess in so many ways, except when it comes to providing for those who need assistance. I hope that you will visit River's journal frequently and follow his story.  He has much to tell us. 

Many of us celebrated Palm Sunday today and next Sunday is Easter. When I was a child, I thought of Easter as a time to get a new outfit. My mother was a very good seamstress and one Easter she made my sister and I matching navy blue capes with a white satin lining. We wore white dresses, little white hats, and white gloves.  I think that I was around eight and my sister was six. We loved the way the capes swirled out when we spun around. I'm not a child any more and I no longer believe that Easter is about wearing new clothes.  I thank River for sharing his story and reminding us what Easter is truly about. We are all our brothers' and sisters' keepers.

Tags: charity, agape, Christianity, homelessness, responsibility, Easter