IN YOUR OWN WORDS SELF, WHEN YOU LET THE PAIN GO YOU’LL SEE A CHANGE! BY RAELENE JOHNSON, VOICE VENDOR GUESS WHAT, SELF? Life is good because we got it together. Life for many years was hard because Self couldn’t love Self. Guess what, Self? Things changed once we learned to love Self. We learned to put Self first, because if we are happy, then we make others happy. When that happens, we make life great for Self and others. Guess what? You have to have the power to do good or bad. The choice is within you. If you are in pain and do not let it go, it keeps you in pain. Pain makes bad choices when Self is hurting, but guess what? Once you let go of the pain, things change. Holding on to bad things keeps bad things coming your JOHN ALEXANDER. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN BACK ON THE STREETS: COPING WITH THOUGHT AND EMOTION BY JOHN ALEXANDER, VOICE VENDOR SOME FOLKS BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE LIKE ME – like the many people that are homeless and living on the streets today – that our actions, past and present, were crazy and are crazy still. But crazy as our craziness is, it has kept many, many of us from crossing over the borders of going insane. What is the meaning of “home”? Home is having a safe place to stay, a residence, a house, a place to have a family, a place to raise a family. But, people like myself often are confronted with the fact of being homeless – or people who were homeless, were able to get housing but can no longer afford their rent. What does that mean? It means not having any of those things I mentioned above about what a home is. It means just living and existing – and ending up back on the streets. ■ This “Back on the Streets” piece is in homage to Brian Augustine, who passed away in January. When he died, Augustine was writing a monthly column about what it was like to return to living on the streets when he could no longer afford his rent. Through the end of this year, various VOICE vendors intend to contribute something in honor of Brian Augustine’s legacy. ILLUSTRATION BY GIGI GALEN way. Flip your way of thinking. Think of good coming, because when you start to think of good things, good will come to you. (Funny how that works.) Guess what? At some point, you have to choose. Hold on tight to pain and keep calling that to you. Or, say, “I can’t change the past, so I’m letting go of the pain. I choose to live and love Self and others.” By doing this, Self, you will end up in a life you never thought would happen. Let go, Self. With love. ■ RAELENE JOHNSON. CREDIT: CORTNEY TABERNA 12 DENVER VOICE August 2023
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