Thank goodness I found the time to do sneak in a little self-care before my outreach shift. Well, actually, I guess, if someone else is helping it even goes beyond self care. Finding myself with a little extra time before the shift, but still needing to pick some stuff up, I stopped by the clinic well in advance before my shift. I was also hoping to get acupuncture for all the ailments I am currently experiencing, that queasy stomach, the resurfacing pain in the toes that I broke over a month ago, the lingering cough, the rough couple of days, months….I remember one time when I was doing reiki in the clinic, when I asked the community member what they wanted, they asked for a good day: just one good day, would be so nice.
I wonder how that person’s day was after that? I often wonder how the reiki affects people afterwards. And definitely today I was dreaming that there would be a good day, good mood, just make everything better point the acuncturists could stick a needle into and just make me feel a little more cheerful.
Well, I get to the clinic and filled out all the paperwork, suddenly realizing it had been a while since I had actually gone and just registered for services. The person working registration told me there was no acupuncture, raising an eyebrow as he gave me the news, because, shouldn’t I know that? I work there, after all. Well, I had thought about checking the schedule but did not actually find the time to do so before I rushed over there.
I was trying to content myself with the idea of just getting leisurely grab those extra supplies I needed for outreach, when he told me there was reiki.
So I signed up. And you know, I only actually had time for a quick shot of reiki, but maybe I could ask for that good day…test it out for myself. It had been so long since I had actually just received reiki. And well I asked for something slightly more involved then a good day, but when Dhami Boo finished and asked me how I was doing, I just started giggling.
In fact, I kept silently laughing to myself for no good reason as I packed the rest of my outreach supplies.
You know, I have been thinking a lot about how to take care of myself so that I don’t get so bogged down by the sadness and anger of the world, especially while doing things like outreach. And as I look at all the tiny little pieces of pain I have accumulated into a larger heavier lump, I wonder where all my self-care tricks went over the years…but damn, if I could fit a reiki session in before every outreach shift, wow, would my work be so much better. I was able to slow down and be present, and even get mad about the beat cops harassing the homeless people…One homeless guy said he got a ticket for jaywalking and he didn’t even jaywalk! He was just standing on the corner! Let’s digress for a moment, because actually this WAS going to be the main topic of my post tonight:
Police target homeless people, give them tickets, sometimes for things they did not do. With this guy, they searched for warrants for a long time, found nothing, so they gave him a ticket he could not pay. Then that unpaid ticket turns into the warrant so that the next time the police catch that guy being homeless on some corner, they can arrest him and before you know it, he’s in jail. That’s San Francisco’s method of cleaning up the streets. I am sure Gavin Newsom thinks clean streets will look good for his campaign. But he is using some dirty methods.
*sigh*
This is actually old news. They have been doing this for a long time. Its a classic way to pick on the homeless, and not deal with the issue of lack of affordable housing. I just can’t help but continue to get totally infuriated every time I encounter it. And I want to keep bringing it up, until everyone recognizes the hypocrisy.
As I walked my bike from that reiki session to where I was going to meet my outreach partner, I noticed that the sidewalks of Market street looked exceptionally clean. It was no surprise that the very next thing I saw were beat cops harassing some guy (who looked poor) in a wheelchair whose stuff had fallen over onto those nice clean sidewalks. Then I saw yet another pair of beat cops turn the corner of the same block to join their colleagues.
Good thing I had that reiki session. Because sometimes my anger about these things consumes me and breaks my heart. And honestly, I am not very effective in outreach with a broken heart…bad moods rub off. But at least, tonight I was able to take my time and be present with the folks we encountered. And despite rain (and even a moment of hail) we actually got to talk to a lot of people tonight.
And then I still had the energy when I got home to tell you all about it.
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