Members of society face various challenges, mostly being unemployment and unstable families, which leads to many children leaving their homes to seek greener pastures as a way of surviving the harsh economic strain. This leads to these children finding their way into urban centers where they survive on the people's mercies to offer them a helping hand in providing food and other necessities they might require. Born and raised in Alabama, one of the low income states in America, I have witnessed the rapid growth of slums where life is tough, especially in our village Selma where my parents and I survive on casual employment. The reflection on "Tree of Life" together with observing as well as engaging with the street has changed my life perception on how to tackle various challenges that might come my way (Christensen, 2015).
Our family depends solely on my father, who is the breadwinner, supporting four heads; my mother, my younger brothers, and I, through operating a grocery store where he sells cheap fruits and vegetables to potential customers. The profits are not as lucrative, but he has provided shelter for us and paid for our education. Mostly, my daily activities revolve around helping him in the store as well as learning how to serve customers when I am not at school. On the new daily routine, I happened to engage with a street child. After thorough observation and meditation, the engagement changed my perceptions of street life and the challenges street children face when struggling to make ends meet.
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Sam, as was the street child's name, informed that his mother left him in the hands of his cruel grandmother, who mistreated him through beatings and failing to offer food, which made him run away from home. Through his interaction, I learned that instability in families instigates many children to vacate their homes. Also, I learned that Sam was brilliant but lacked an opportunity to continue with education as he had left school at a tender age. Furthermore, I learned that life is always unfair, and one ought to be careful about the opportunities presented to them. However, the interaction with Sam was an eye-opener and a revelation ever to appreciate the little things parents do to support their children.
The interaction made me realize that I have been spiritual and caring for a long time. I have been following ethical Christian values by respecting my parents and members of society, regardless of age and economic status. I would say it is because I consult my Christian peers and seek divine intervention whenever I feel challenged. Also, through hard work in school, I manage to attain good grades. I am equally honest with my peers and colleagues and have expanded my social networks as well. Later, I learned that loving and caring for my younger siblings instilled a sense of belonging, and my parents regarded me as responsible.
The major hopes and wishes I embraced after studying the "Tree of Life" are being of use in our society. I hoped to provide shelter and clothing to street children and raise hopes of a better life. Also, I wished those conflicting families could come to a compromise and provide for their children without torturing young able minds of youths. Alleviating the lives of those in streets need the government to intervene and provide better and affordable houses where street children can seek shelter with harassment from their predators who overwork them, treating them as work slaves. Also, I wished the government would establish free education where students have access to food as well as offering job opportunities to many unemployed youths who lives in the streets.
As seen from the above reflection, using the "Tree of Life" exercise in my work will aid in establishing a concrete foundation to realize my strengths and weakness. I will be able to improve my skills and talents towards developing and shaping life perceptions; therefore, I will have a better angle when solving challenging situations in life. I would wish and encourage my colleagues to reflect on what they perceive as well as helping the needy in society.
Reference
Christensen, T. G. (2015). An African tree of life (No. 14). Wipf and Stock Publishers.
