Epilogue:

First of all, thank you so much for staying with me for so long.

I want to encourage people to think very carefully about all that I have proposed here. I know that there is a very big tendency to choke on such ideas with the words “but, but, but… this could happen, that will happen; that can’t work,” etc. I encourage, as I say, you to consider *WORKING* with us on such a project, in order to help it function the way it needs to. I am well aware there will be pitfalls. But I think the main pitfall is the tendency to think negatively… about everything. We have a human tendency to do so, and this fact has been duly noted by greedy and abusive entities and used for the purpose of exploitation of those in weaker positions.

The only way to avoid the pitfalls, or to recover from mistakes, is to work at it, to actually be involved in it. It’s tempting to stand on the sidelines, to use a sports metaphor, to be an armchair quarterback. Then one is able to retain the cherished illusion of superiority. It’s much less painful, of course, than having to navigate those troubled and dangerous waters oneself.

The reason I want to start this project is somewhat hard to explain. To earn enough money to live and pay my bills would not take that much energy and would be much less of a risk than to undertake such a daunting task as to initiate such a project as this from the ground up. But, although it would be easier for me to just worry about myself, it has become impossible for me to do this. And the reason for this is that I can’t rest knowing of the thousands of people who sleep rough, who sit next to subway stations, buildings, rivers, dumpsters and so on, with nothing to do and no way out of their predicament. It’s easy to say, “get a job”. It’s a much bigger challenge for them to actually do that. Through the media we are conditioned to see the “homeless” as hopeless, worthless, useless, dangerous; effectively they are being portrayed as “human refuse”.

The way I see it, humanity itself is under attack. And now in the current political climate a person is not allowed to say it, not allowed to express it, that humans are made in the image of God. I’m not a religious person, in fact I abhor all religion, but I think that humans are innately good and that the idea that something bigger than us exists, some consciousness which is larger than our own, and that IT has created us, EVEN IF OTHERS WANT IT TO BE PROVED UNTRUE… I think that such a belief, that life is sacred, SERVES humanity and the whole earth much better than the belief in the idea of each-man-for-himself and that the one with the most toys at the end of the game wins.

And so, I don’t care if there is a God or not in an ontological sense. I only care that this belief in a God or Higher Power or Being, or Consciousness governing our lives, I care that that BELIEF ITSELF offers protection against the onslaught of evil we are experiencing in the world. I choose to believe more in that than in the theory that I am unimportant, that I am just a speck of dust, without meaning, that my life doesn’t count. I think if we all feel that we count, then we can make the next step and begin to feel and behave as if everyone counts. Holding open this possibility of a God or a Higher Power, one can say, as attributed to John Bradford in 1555, “There, but for the grace of God, go I,” and make a case for compassion. I don’t say this in order to invoke fear in anyone, but simply to point out that humans are worthy to receive compassionate help and that the giving of such help makes a human life worth living.

The main thing about humans and human life is the search for meaning. If we all and our lives here are meaningless, then by all means, let us die as hedonists, not caring for anything but our own satisfaction. But I think this is a grave mistake. We are not made that way. I am not made that way. Therefore I cannot search for my own salvation, for my own comfort alone. I just can’t. It’s not in me to do that. And so, in that way, my request is somewhat selfish. I need for you to help me to help others. Otherwise I cannot live on this earth.

This brings me to the final point I wish to make. It is not primarily my hope or intention to motivate people to give thousands in currency units. Certainly, thousands are needed, and I am not trying to stop anyone from giving of their substance. Rather, my intent is that for each monetary unit one gives, each person who contributes would alert at least one other person, hopefully more, to the existence of this campaign. With money alone we will never be able to meet the challenge. The main resource I am soliciting here is that of involvement. The more people who know about it, the more people will be able to participate, or if nothing else, simply keep it upon their hearts and in their minds that we are making this effort. That in and of itself will be a great help and support to us in this adventure.

LASTLY: It will only be possible for me to do this if there is a response from many people. If what I am proposing touches the hearts of others, they will join in. But for myself, I also need help in overcoming adverse life events that have left me at a disadvantage. I had to be honest with myself, that I will only be able to focus on this project if I have the support to do so. Therefore, I have started a separate gofundme account for personal expenses needed in order for me to start the project. In order to maintain clarity, I wanted my personal needs separated from the finances required to fund this project. That account is linked here.