Liberate Ourselves through Gratitude

Gwendolyn Dow

English 102

Professor Tom Dewit

     We can liberate ourselves when we’re able to perceive all that is around us with gratitude.

Father G worked tirelessly creating an organization with the intent of liberating notorious gang members in Los Angeles, California. Father G was not just taking the journey of liberating others in this selfless experience, he had become the journey. Through words of encouragement and purpose, he allows his-self to become a spirit of openness and a champion willing to be challenged. The challenge for Father G is to work with gang members that have lived a life of hopelessness and despair.  Unconditional love and encouragement are the tools Father G uses when he comes in contact with Ramiro. Although he notices the tattoo on Ramiros forehead, he never once spoke badly of him, but recognizes that in order for Ramiro to become employed the tattoo was definitely a huge problem in his search.  This tattoo displayed words that left one feeling Ramiro had little to no respect for his-self or others. Father G had the skillful means to notice and respond to the service needs of the gang members through bearing witness and loving action. He possessed a greater clarity of vision and becomes engaged in different outreach programs.  “We began tattoo removal because of a guy named Ramiro.  A gang member fresh out of prison, with a long record, had Fuck The World tattooed on his forehead, completely filling the space there”. (pg 7)

Father G gave Ramiro a job at Homeboy Bakery and started the process of tattoo removal of all the gang members seeking to find employment and a pathway to becoming a more desirable member in their community.  Ramiro felt a certain amount of gratitude to Father G, recognizing one of the angriest moments in his life had been removed.  In his own words Father G felt that the removal of the tattoos by Homeboy Bakery was owed all to Ramiro. Father G recognizes through his encounter with Ramiro that a sense of living separate from each other in the real world is an illusion, our fates are intertwined. Therefore, to not see the risk of the well being of others is a risk to our own well being.  As a result,  both Father G. and Ramiro shared gratitude and liberation for the task they had accomplished. While they may not agree on every issue, the two of them emerge from their encounter with purpose and persistence.

    
One of many phone call Father G gets is from a gang member name Cesar.  Father G and Cesar have known each other since Cesar was a kid.  Cesar at the age of twenty-five had recently finished a four year sentence in prison and needs the help of Father G to begin his life on the outside, as he try his very best to stay away from the life that landed him in prison.  Although Cesar was involved in the gang lifestyle, his memory of the closeness between him and Father G never faded. “In this early morning call Cesar did not discover that he has a father.  He discovered that he is a son worth having”. (pg31)  “Look son” I say to him, “Who’s got a better heart than you?” (pg 30) Transforming a negative situation into a positive one with the help of Father G, soon helped Cesar develop qualities such as compassion and forgiveness.  In many instances gratitude must be taught, for it is powerful and liberating and has the power to change the atmosphere around you.  The power of gratitude reveals itself when we can practice it in the face of what is difficult and challenging.  We all must adapt the ability to be humble and find the courage to view aspects in life from many different perspectives and not just our very own.

    Lula one of the young gang members with attention deficit disorder and feelings of self-consciousness, fell victim of others building their happiness on the unhappiness of his. " He was standing by his-self, and no one seemed to include him or pay him much attention, except when they'd steal his eggs." (pg. 47) Lula found living in his own skin a challenge that meant being alone and dealing with his true feelings of fear, anxiety, sadness and excitement. One of Lulas most exciting days was the day he received his report card failing with a all Fs. Father G accepted Lula’s failing report card and praised him for zero absences as tho he was a straight A student.  Father tried to lift Lula’s spirit and not let on any disappointment in him.  “:Lula, nice goin’, Mijo, you didn’t miss a day (I’m thinking, a lot a good it did ya-you didn’t miss a day”. (pg 50).  Lula was so grateful to hear those words come out the mouth of Father G.  This only proves that we are made to grow  through each other, and see the good in difficult people.  To be grateful makes one happy  rather than happiness making one grateful.  Lula’s struggle since he was a small kid hardly ever allowed him to view either happiness or gratitude.”Simone Weil was right: “Those who are unhappy have no need for anything in this world, but people capable of giving them their attention.”  Being that old habits are hard to break, it is necessary for Lula and the other gang members to practice being grateful for the small things in life, thus allowing one to obtain and possess the greater things in life.  The more you continue to remind yourself and be reminded of the positive things in life, the easier it becomes to be grateful and liberated from demons in your past.

    Cricket needed a helpful dose of gratitude in his life to say the least.  Even when Father G greets him with kindness he still displays a disregard for graciousness.  To say that he would “give me the cold shoulder” would impugn shoulders”. (pg 55)   All it took for Father G to have a breakthrough with Cricket was to call him by his name, ( William) even as he walked away with no response. However, Cricket was elated in his own right that the priest knew his name. “Hey the priest knows my name.” (pg 55) To have the attention from Father G in calling him by his birth name allowed him to reap emotional and personal benefits, and for that he was grateful whether he showed it or not.  In life we often take for granted things that most deserve our gratitude.  In spite of Cricket’s coldness toward Father G, he had now been elevated to be acknowledge as a human being, with a name other than the one that associated him with all  the derogatory things in his past. For that reason, he assumed ownership with feeling of quiet liberation, if only for the moment.  Although humans are driven by emotions, our worth is not diminished by what others think of us.  There comes a time when we all must be willing to be misunderstood, grateful and fully liberated from our past mistakes.