DJ Journey...and Noble

What do you say after a great night out when you run into a man sleeping in a computer box in the middle of downtown L.A.? Do you just keep walking or do you stop and talk to him? Journey and I (Cheetara) decided that we'd stop and find out who the homeless man was. His name is Noble. He found his way on the street because of a heroine addiction. And what's even more is that he found a way to fit into a box (literally), which he made his home for one night. This young man (Noble) has a story, and had parents, just like rest of us, but he chose a different route. And as we know, homelessness definitely is a choice.

I recall the night being cold and windy. Journey and I had a place to go, a roof over our heads, a warm place to lay, but Noble didn't. He stop us in our tracks and made us essentially re-evaluate our lives as human beings, and simply as people.

I felt compelled to hear his story as well as share mine and where I came from. Journey sat with Noble and also shared his life. We both realized after walking away from him that regardless of how much money we gave him that night, that we, at the end of the day would still walk away with so much more. But the things we find of value was not simply the mighty dollar, but the family and friends who loved us.

Before I (Cheetara) left Noble, I told him that he was the strongest man in the world at that given moment, because the fact of the matter is that he lived on the street. I don't believe that Brad Pitt or Brittany Spears could ever spend a night, let alone years on the street the way that Noble did. I respected that, because I don't think I could either. There's a fearlessness attached to a person who does this. And as we said, it is a choice. And he chose this lifestyle. It doesn't make us any better than him. It just showed us that we could very well be in his shoes. And the difference between him and the rest of the world is that we fake it a little bit better than him. All we need are a pair of shaded glasses and a nice car and that will be enough to convince the world that we are better. What bullshit right? Well that is what I discovered that night, that I just cover up my life a little better than Noble. I am no better than him and he is no better than me, because God apparently has given us both life.

But I guess it all boils down to one thing--how you CHOOSE to live LIFE.