Today I returned from a trip to Vancouver. We drove from TransCanada 1 to Downtown. Social inequality could not have been more aptly demonstrated. On East Hastings, only a few blocks from four and five star hotels, homeless people wait on either side of the street for night to fall. 

Do you look away? Feelng guilty that you are fortunate enough to be inside a warm car rather than outside in the rain? 

Do you wonder just how easily could that have been me?

Do you feel that if only “they” tried harder, or didn’t “do drugs” or if they “simply sought help” they might also be warm and comfortable in a home they could call their own?

If you are asking questions, then you are open to learning.  Open to a journey that could shape your thoughts and possibly help inspire others to contemplate more than what may seem like simple answers to questions. 

Many countries carry legacies of shame. I grew up in the time of apartheid in South Africa. Canada has acknowledge the damage done decades ago when children were taken from their homes and forced to attend residential schools.