To Write Love on Her Arms

An hour in Union Station.

Jun. 16, 2010 at 12:00am

This blog was written on June 4, 2010.

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It is Thursday (but technically Friday) and I am sitting in Union Station in downtown Los Angeles waiting for the 1:25 am bus to take me to Bakersfield to catch a train heading north to see my parents.

I have only been here once before, and it was for a brief moment when I ran past everything without really noticing anything. This time I have an extra hour before I need to leave, so I take the time to observe my surroundings.

Union Station is a beautiful old building full of decorative tiles and leather chairs and wood trim on the ceiling. It’s a place I imagine Winston Churchill or FDR enjoying because it’s what I picture being "exquisite" during their lifetimes.

Union Station is also a building full of people who don’t have homes, places to go, or people to share their stories with. Many of the faces you pass look just as weathered as the walls. As I sit in one of the old-fashioned, brown leather chairs, I notice a security guard walking around, gently waking people up and asking, “Can I see your ticket?” The response from the person is typically one of confusion, or a rustle of pockets yielding no money or ticket, followed by silence as the sleepy person walks out into the early morning. They all give the ticket man the same look: pain.

I quietly ask the security guard, “How do you do this everyday?”

“Eventually you just get used to it. It’s always the same.”

The words roll around in my mind for long time. I try to wrap my head around each of them, to somehow make sense of their meaning.

“It’s always the same.”

Why? It doesn’t have to be. We are not meant to live our lives in such brokenness. Every one of these people has a story, and each just as important. Why do we feel as if their lives are so drastically different from the security guard’s? And from my life. Or maybe yours too.

My heart aches for lonely, broken people. But also for the security guard, who has to send them away everyday, into a place where shelter may not meet them. And for the people who have a roof, and a bed, but still feel alone – my heart aches for you, and sometimes for me, because at times it feels lonelier in a crowded room than it does in an empty home.

So if that’s you right now, please know it is possible to find a place where you feel alive. You are meant for that. You deserve to have a place to go and rest. It may not involve a roof, but it will involve people. And in the sharing of your story with others, you give them permission to do the same.

With Love,

Chloe

Posted in General, Journal by Chloe Grabanski

Comments (9)

Beautiful, friend.
Thank you for the reminder.
-Ad

1 | Left by Adley Stump | Jun. 16, 2010 at 12:13pm

so so true.
i think that maybe if we all took that extra time throughout our lives, than this world would be a much happier place.
we all have the ability to understand each other, we just need to take the time to do so.
thank you, Chloe, for being one who does.

2 | Left by Kay | Jun. 16, 2010 at 3:28pm

Chloe,
Wow, you seem like a very perceptive person. I feel like after reading this, I can infer that both you and I have a strong sense of empathy. Personally, I feel that it can be my best asset or my worst enemy, as it makes my heart feel very heavy at certain times.
Thank you for expressing your time at Union Station. I enjoyed reading about it.
Peace to you tonight,
-Jovie

3 | Left by Jovie | Jun. 16, 2010 at 4:23pm

Chloe you certainly demonstrate the the ability to feel compassion for people. Even people you don't even know. That I am affraid to say is seen less in people today than ever before. When other people read this I hope they are as inspired as much as you have inspired me. You are wise beyond your years and a gifted writer. Your mother raised you well. Love always.....dad

4 | Left by Bruce | Jun. 17, 2010 at 8:16am

well u seem like the kind of person who really cares about people and like u want the world to be a better place.i really think why should people have to be treated that way.if you are one of the people who thinks your better than someone then they r better than you,anyone who feels that way shouldnt be able to even have their own opinion.

5 | Left by loren | Jun. 17, 2010 at 2:20pm

i don't believe that could have been articulated in any better fashion. =] thank you for reminding me that my story is important, but more importantly, that i also have a purpose. a purpose to reach out to those who are as broken as i am. to see them in the light in which Christ sees them; to love them abundantly. not with my own love, but with the love of the father.

6 | Left by rachel | Jun. 17, 2010 at 7:42pm

I certainly understand everytime I look at a homeless person or someone on the corner with a sign just how close I am to being them or in their position. When I can do nothing but share my love these days, it definately hurts that I can't help others for needing so much help myself. But it seems like even now I can do nothing but see others pain, which is actually a good thing to me that it shows I am not so wrapped up in my own that I cannot recognize that of others.

It is somewhat comforting though to remember that I am not alone, and that there is hope.

7 | Left by Desiree | Jun. 18, 2010 at 11:19am

Please read the link. Help us. Write. Visit the city. Our community has struggled so hard with this.

8 | Left by Anon | Jun. 20, 2010 at 4:37pm

I can relate to what you are saying so much. I too feel for people i dont know. I too think about the homeless guy on the corner sleeping on the street and wonder why he has to stay there. my heart bleeds for people i dont know all the time.

9 | Left by sandra | Jun. 28, 2010 at 4:37pm

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