Chapter 11... Lifegasm Book I: Marshall's Promise

Lifegasm Book I: Marshall's Promise

*Meeting with Truth* EXCERPT: As I looked up at the stars, I reflected on what I’d learned about the sacred essence of shelter: a place to sleep is not like a pair of pricey Italian boots. Shelter is not an indulgence we can live without. So if someone you love asks you to share your roof and you refuse, you’re essentially casting them into the darkness. Yes, we live in a world where that darkness can be mitigated by hotel rooms, but that’s capitalism’s answer to the problem. When someone asks for a place to stay, it means they need a place to stay. At its core, the denial of such a request, especially when it’s coming from someone you trust, no matter what story you tell yourself about why you’ve issued the denial, is, in my eyes, a spiritual crime. This isn’t to say we aren’t entitled to our own boundaries. If we’ve had a houseguest for three weeks and it’s feeling like time for them to move on, it’s okay to give your friend a polite shove off. But to never open your door in the fist place? That’s fucked up if you ask me. I don’t care if our cultural conditioning tells us otherwise. For my own sense of self, I decided that if anyone I trusted ever asked me to share my shelter in the future, once I had a shelter to share, that is, I would do everything within my power to say yes.