Before I had much experience in life I would sometimes cry, thinking how hard it all was. I met a man in 2001 who changed all that for me. I will not try to compare him to any homeless person, and I will not pretend his lot was as bad it could get. His name was John, and he owned a car, and had a home. His entire life seemed to comprise those two pieces of property, and everything in them. This 14 foot trailer was John’s home. He once told me that at nights he would burn his own waste in the fire he would set outside to warm himself by. The battery in his car provided his electrical supply. I was never made to feel sorry for him, just to understand him. I try not to compare my life to his, knowing that he was a happy man, and that I too can always be happy with where I am and what I am doing. But I keep this image in my mind to remind me that the world is not just about what we have, but our attitude towards it.