We give some money and food to some of the other homeless. We encounter one that is actually up on a stool equating to normal adult height. It's a stroking difference in approach. Most are actually physically and symbolically extremely low to the ground. There are 2 guys that assume the begging for mercy position as their normal modus. The kids give one of the prostrated guys money and he slowly looks up at them, and then at me noticing I am watching over them from a couple of feet back. His movements are slow and deliberate like he is malnourished or sedated. His eyes not vacant but rather the look of 40% pain, 50% sorrow and an unexpected 10% what I would call acceptance. I smile and gesture hi. He slowly formulates a smile back.

I am considering asking Tim if he has any interest in earning some cash in exchange for telling me his life story. An offer to earn some money for him and a respectable way for me to write about him instead of an unauthorized expose'. His name and corner location in this writing to date are fictitious to protect his identity. Even if I don't get the OK or find the time to write about Tim I will leave Sydney feeling like I answered my WHY. Australia lags behind in WORKABLE social programs for all its constituents. Their programs may or may not be working for those of Aboriginal and Torres Strait descent (the islands to the north between Australia and Papua New Guinea) as well as women and children. I don't know. All I can say is that the programs exist, but are broken enough where large population of individuals feel that street living is more sound choice than using them. I suggested in a previous post that the effects of side-by-side living with life threatening flora and fauna contribute to society's tolerance for the unpleasantries of natural selection. I hold this as a viable contributing factor in this society. I would also like to add that the climate is another logical contributor as rough sleeping in a temperate climate is not as inhumane as in sub-0 conditions.

Regarding the question WHAT TO DO. I admitted not being Mother Teresa earlier in this post, but I will point to a quote from her to express the position I lean upon to come to peace with this once-pressing question. I have this quote in my laundry room at home to offer perspective as I toil over my family's soiled clothes. "In this life we cannot do great things, but we can do small things with great love."