He was sitting quietly on a bench in downtown Nashville. His life is neatly packed in the bags attached to the rear of his bicycle that lacks working front and rear brakes. A short chain is secured on the handlebars held in place by a master lock that will hold it tight to a tree so that it will not be stolen as darkness falls and he sleeps through the evening.
Catholic Priest and writer Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen once stated, "The greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity or power, but self-rejection." One walk down a crowded city street will open your eyes to see the self-rejection that exists in our society. So many people feel downtrodden or victimized by others when in reality, they dislike themselves.
Professor Nouwen worked with the mentally handicapped on a daily basis. The Priest also researched the lives of many and knew self-rejection well. Before his death he wrote 39 books and taught at the University of Notre Dame, Yale Divinity School and Harvard Divinity School.