I picked up an “Our Daily Bread” that read: “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” Psalm 127:1

My co-living arrangement is a home funded by the School of Medicine and the Social Security Administration. I am glad to write that I do not need to work for a bed, food, or water. and Even though I have good luck and privileges, I am reminded that lacking hope or gratitude for Mother Nature will be a meaningless way to live. To explain, I will compare my current living experience with my Childhood home.

Currently, I live in a cabin with *two beds per room, and common eating and sitting areas are shared. On this Hawaiian island, I wake up to the natural sounds of wind in the trees and the soft tweets of birds in the early morning. After waking, I drink a cup of warm lemon water with green tea, then stretch after splashing cool water on my face. Because I am present in peace, I am aware that natural food and exercise in the sunshine will nourish me back to health, undoubtedly, and nobody can take my faith/positive outlook away.

In comparison, in the Bay Area “valley” of the 1980S, my sisters and I would spend long hours staring at “TV sitcoms” and listening to “MTV” hip hop while eating “junk food” and “fast food.” We grew up with foggy heads and hair full of static. Sadly, as new immigrants, both parents worked full-time jobs and classified the food and the noise as American “stuff.” Unfortunately, after coming home depleted of physical energy, they chose no faith/negative outlook. So, we watched our mother ignore her physical pain while our father drank beer endlessly to relieve his own.

Finally, the small booklet, “Our Daily Bread”, reminds me that my parents built our home in vain. Because we were filled with illusion and endured poor health for 18 years, my sisters and I are facing divorce, bankruptcy, and disease in our adult lives. At last, my father died by suicide while our mother continues in a depressed state.

The picture below shows the simple plant-based foods I eat now: oats, maple syrup, nuts, and seeds. The plate and bowl are from the Salvation Army.

*two beds per room:

Usually, a social security disability insurance beneficiary gets their own room to heal for 5 to 7 years.