Wednesday, February 04, 2004
STREET KIDS--vIGUELS/QUESTS/PILGRIMAGES
They are called "losers", "failures", "punks", "dopers". They are the fastest growing segment of our homeless population--homeless street kids. But in my years working with this population I have found in them the incarnated image of Jesus, and much more than their labels--these individuals are human beings on a journey like all of us and in their culture they too embody discernment through: Viguels/Quests/Pilgrimages.
VIGUEL
For the most part these kids are creatures of the night. Each night is a viguel of waiting for the warmth and safety of day, facing down what is real evil for them in the presence of predators, and a sense of expectation of hope in the day. They begin their day when most are going to bed. In a sense living their lives at night is a viguel. The nights are cold, they sleep in our parks, under our bridges, on our sidewalks. The night becomes a time of watching, waiting for the morning.
One common expression is "living for the light." What they mean is they are waiting for the light of day when the warmth of the sun comes out and they can find a place to sleep. The night becomes a time of waiting for the warmth and safety of the light. There lives are filled with predators, with fear of the police, and their own "demons" they chase. Nightly I see young kids sitting silently together, sometimes around a fire, simply waiting for the day--they face the evil of the night and enter into the light of safety.
Secondly it is a time of hope. My experience with these kids is that each day is another day of hope--of survival,of something good happening to them, and so their waiting through the night is a sense of hopefulness.
In the past months our viguels against the war have been populated by street kids. Next week when I go viguel at San Quentin against the execution I will have more than I can take wanting to go with me. Standing Viguel is a way of life for street kids--it is a means of survival, of hope, and of facing the dangers of the night.
QUEST
These kids call themselves "travelers". They travel all across this country--some for the pure enjoyment of staying on the move, others simply moving from one city to another, and for many this traveling takes the form of a quest. They are searching for their own holy grail. Many come to California because of the "California Dream", that mythical belief that in California one finds a paradise of warm weather and riches. Others travel simply searching for a meaning and a place in life. For many of them traveling is a quest for their place in life.
PILGRIMAGE
There are streets kids I find are pilgrims. For them their pilgrimages are to the holy ground of Jerry Garcia Concerts or Phish Concerts. Others participate in counter cultural groups like the Faeries, which is a group that sees all life as a quest for freedom and meaning. They have campsites in the forests of Oregon and each year many kids pilgrimage to the holy ground of these sites. They are places where they are accepted for who they are, where they are given free food, hear Elders speak.
In the days of Jerry Garcia, to follow his band was a pilgrimage, and today to follow the band Phish takes the form of a pilgrimage. In the musice, the life style of the members, they find an expression for a way of life. Listening to them talk one hears words that sounds like pilgrims going to Rome.
They share the stories of years of following these bands or going to Faerie Gatherings, stories of awe, of holiness.
There is a yearly gathering of kids in Humbolt County, at the peak of the pot harvest. Yearly kids journey, to spend a week participating in a celebration of the harvest--it is a pilgrimage for many as they take part in what many see as sacred ceremonies.
In conclusion viguels, quests, and pilgrimages are a part of our humanity, in one way or another we all take part in them in one form or another. For the street kids I work with their words and expressions may take a different form than we use, but these viguels, quests and pilgrimages are as every bit as sacred as those of a "tradional nature."
Note this is written for reflection in the formation program for spiritual directors in princeton, new jersey
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i am in princeton new jersey for formation program for spiritual directors. cold, and heat here drys me out. seem to feel better, but difficulty telling because i cannot sleep regularly and we are sitting hours onin and i am tired as hell. have not left sf behind, had to call d to get him up for doctor, have other calls tomorrow, around health issues. i find myself in the middle of the night looking at my demons around death etc. all i do is do the liturgy of the hours and lean on jesus. met with son of participant here tonight who suffers depression, we talked and i encouraged him to get meds for depression, and so it goes for now.
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