This year I’ve been raising a ruckus about the mass amounts of food we waste and I’m currently shooting a documentary in which a toothless Chihuahua named Peanut and I live solely on healthy dumpster food for a week. As expected, we’ve been finding more food than my friends, Peanut, and I can eat so we’ve also been feeding people on the streets. On a rainy Thursday afternoon, we headed to downtown San Diego with a big pot of homemade soup and a couple dozen freshly prepared fried-egg sandwiches.

That’s where I met Lee. He was a quiet older guy and he wasn’t interested in our soup or our sandwiches. As we passed out the food to others, I saw him looking at me a few times and he seemed to be scowling. There was a lot going on, so I didn’t give it too much thought and continued to talk with others and pass out food. When all the food was gone, I headed towards the car and passed by Lee again. In a curious but also annoyed tone he asked me, “What do you have that camera for?” I explained that I am filming a documentary about food waste and that I’m trying to inspire people to be good to each other. He was attentive but not too interested in the words that came out of my mouth. He quickly responded, “If you really want to understand why don’t you come live on the streets with me.”

His response amused me and after just a few moments of thought, I replied, “Okay, but I have to finish up this documentary first. I’ll be back next Wednesday. Will you be here?” He said he’s always around on the corner of 16th and Island and if he’s not there, just to ask around and I’ll find him.

It turns out that Wednesday is Christmas and the week will stretch to New Years Day. It wasn’t intentional that I will be living on the streets for the holidays but it is fitting. I am a strong believer that less is more. Owning fewer possessions gives me more time to do what I love. Having less money allows me to appreciate the simple things in life. Needing and wanting less opens up room for happiness and health. Expecting less means more satisfaction. It’s easier to remember what really matters when my perspective is not clouded by a “need more” mentality.

I believe that every human is equal and deserving of companionship regardless of whether he lives in a home or on the streets. I want to live a life free of judgment and and I want to understand all walks of life. I don’t have any homeless friends and I don’t have many associations with people living on the streets. But I want to change that. I have much to learn from this encounter and I’d like to think I have something to share with both the people I meet on the street and those who follow my experience. I cannot yet say what will come of this week, but I hope to show that it’s not what someone has or where he lives that makes him who he is; it’s his actions, his words, and his thoughts. I hope to demonstrate that the differences between “homeless” and “home dwellers” are quite minimal compared to the similarities.

Christmas morning I’ll head out with a sleeping bag, sleeping pad and a few small possessions. I won’t have any money or a phone and I’m excited for that. I plan to make new friends, make people smile, read books and use the computer at the public library, bathe in the ocean, and lay in the sun. I’m probably going to cry, but I bet I’m going to laugh more. I seek to love and respect all humans but I don’t, yet, and that is due to a lack of understanding. Books and documentaries can only do so much. I’ve got to experience it all to truly understand and love it all.

Sending love to you for the holidays,

Rob Greenfield