Bumper stickers are a great way to proclaim your life's mantra as you cut someone off at an intersection, thereby rendering any opinion attached to your bumper as null and void. Honestly, does it matter if the blue sedan that nearly T-boned you has a pithy 'keep it local' sticker? Are you any less infuriated when 4 cars to your left stretch the yellow light into obscene shades of orange but the final one proclaims their kid is some genius scholar at one of the local elementary schools?
Recently I saw a bumper sticker that told me variety is the spice of life. Three things happened: First, I heard my deceased aunt Velma's snarky voice echoing this because it was one of her favorite soundbites. Second, I found myself growing hungry for some curry. Lastly, I wondered what life felt like if it lacked variety and was bound to a regimented schedule that was not easily altered. Can you imagine doing the same thing every day, over and again because you had limited options?
The Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day, came to mind. In this flick he played a reporter stuck in a small Pennsylvanian town. An accident caused him to wake up every morning and experience the exact same events in the same sequential order every day for numerous days. Ever feel like that? If variety is truly the spice of life then this menu is in need of a serious culinary overhaul.
Every morning, Monday- Friday, I arrive at Samaritan House in the morning and see many of our residents go through the motions of a mechanized routine. They drearily filter into our dining area and sleepily assault the coffee pot before planting themselves into a chair to watch the morning news. Then, its off to breakfast, the library, or some of them go back to their rooms to wait for lunch. This happens with precision regularity and is dolefully uneventful. There is no variety for many of our residents because they have slid into a type of survival mode that covets routine because it is easier to face the day when there are few surprises.
In their experiences, surprises are often attached to tragedy.
Occasionally, a resident or two will arrive who transcends this scheme. He or she hasn't been conditioned to accept a banal existence dependent upon predictability. There is an understanding that life is not over because a person is homeless. There are options and factors that can be taken into consideration that will help them break free and live. These individuals are an inspiration to me.
They are spice.
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