there but for

 "There but for the grace of God, goes me," is what I used to think when I saw street people in Long Beach.

Once homeless, myself, I told my homeless peers "I guess I fell out of god's graces."

I do not actually believe in a god who runs things on earth. Too many stars in the sky to think earth is the only life in the universe. I could believe that aliens from some other planet or universe came to earth and were given the names of gods/goddesses, by primitive humans. In today's world, when people claim to be talking to God, they are schizophrenic having hallucinations. 

I could also believe that Jesus was an advanced soul who mastered "mind over matter" so that he actually could walk on water. 

No, I just made one wrong choice after another, with a bit of hard luck thrown into the mix. 

When I left east coast for sunny, southern California, my mantra was: If I am going to be homeless, I would rather be homeless in someplace warm. Winter/rainy season did not make it a nice, cozy, warm time to live on the streets. But I survived.