“Alexander the Grate” on living in the “interstices of the infrastructure”

if I had not been alexander I would have been diogenes

I pass this guy (as well as the other guy across the street under the VRE bridge) every time I go for a run on the mall. I was very surprised to click this article, and think "wait I know this place". I've always wondered how long they've been there. Alexander seems to get up and move around during the day, but the other guy I've never seen out of his chair. Feel bad for these guys situation, and glad to hear they're keeping on.

This is the spot for anyone curious. Like the article touches on, there is an irony in these guys living on the street half a mile from the United States Capitol building. And the google maps photo has the other guy who stays under the VRE bridge.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/349-371+7th+St+SW,+Washing...

As another commenter said, it means natural body of water, like a creek, stream, river, lake, ocean, etc.

I also had this fantasy, and then it became a dream, and then it became an intention, and then it became reality.

I did not do it overnight, it is a practice I started about 7 years ago, and I am still practicing every day, though I am better at it now.

I was lucky to be exposed to the ideas at a very young age.

Like I said, had a fantasy for a long time, before my 20s, then through my 20s, then into my 30s.

Then, around the same year or two period, I got hit by a car on my bike (rushing home for lunch from work), family illness (while fending off emails from project manager), and then injured myself even more seriously and finally got to take some time off, wearing a cast.

As this was happening, I began to come to the conclusion that my fantasy/dream/intention has always been there all along, and by avoiding it I only made it a longer and more painful process...

As that stuff was happening, I started finally making moves. First, I got rid of my apartment, which was my biggest monthly expense. I started couch-surfing and also found a very cheap place to live. I slowly got into the mental habit of actually lowering my expenses.

Gradually, I stopped bying clothes, paying a cell phone bill, etc., until all that was left was transportation, shelter, food, and weed. (Since ~25, I am a regular smoker because it helps me with depression like nothing else I've tried.)

Eventually, I bought a minivan on Craigslist for $1,400, which turned out to have a "broken" transmission, and I lived out of this van for about 1-2 years. I never got the transmission repaired, I just had to drive it gently, and no faster than 25 miles per hour with the blinkers on whenever I was going uphill. But I was not nearly as often in a hurry as I am now.

Then I lived out of another van. I had a housemate in this van, and they were messy, and so I learned to keep my things organized in bags. My main backpack (smol) for things like identification and laptop, everything I don't want to part with. A bag for dance and movement things. A bag for electronics.

Then I met people living outdoors and thought, hey, I've done this before in the woods, why not in the city. So I tried it. And it stuck. I got rid of the van eventually.

Before Corona, there was so much free public space, it is was unbelievable. I could work in almost any town or city, because there was almost always a seat, a table, and a power outlet, and often wifi too.

All good things come to an end, however. I've had to make some adjustments lately. But I'm still hanging on, with some minor concessions.

While I am adjusting, I have reverted to using currency for a few things. Luckily, I was approved for foodstamps and even cash assistance, which works out to a few hundred a month. I have not applied for other benefits like the Corona Payment and Unemployment.

And now that I am more experienced, and I have a bit of a system, it is easier to just replace one thing at a time. I've also learned a lot about flow and manifestation.

If you have heard about The Secret and it seemed like bullshit, try another book: Entangled Minds. Quantum Reality is undeniable, and only a fool would ignore the possibilities.

You can literally create a better world for yourself by imagining it, focusing on it, setting good intentions, and feeling gratitude for your gifts to yourself.

I had some psychedelics experiences before and after, but I was into the idea before that. Even after psychedelics, I still resisted the draw, because I was afraid for my own survival. I felt like the matrix is the only way.

It took some really harsh non-psychedlic but life-changing, harsh experiences I mentioned earlier to finally pull me away from it and realize that I was going down the wrong path for me.

As I mentioned in another comment, these experiences were a family member's illness, a couple of personal physical injuries (related to stress and rushing), and a stressful work environment.

If I had listened to the cues earlier, I could have transitioned before any of that happened, avoided a lot of the pain, and had a much easier time dealing with the unavoidable.

But life is all about lessons...