Aspects of Being

Gabrielle Perreault

Mention the word "Poverty" in almost any circle and it's guaranteed to conjure images of some far-off land overcome by filthy living conditions, emaciated and disease-ridden bodies, drawn and hopeless faces, pleading wordlessly for relief - the very picture of Poignancy. It usually manifests itself in notions of sympathy and a sense of wanting to help. Oh, it's real enough! But quite often it is also presumed that it is we, The Superior, who must attend to these needs, for we are the ultimate "Haves", and they, the unfortunate "Have-nots". It separates us, you see..... Poor them. Lucky Us! 

Perhaps it is precisely that perception, as well as how we've been taught to evaluate 'wealth' that leads us to ignore, judge, or shun those among us right here who also suffer from lack.... 

It is all too easy to spout the rhetoric that ours is the Promised Land, and that one must help themselves in order to gain Success and be deserving of this vast bounty we are supposedly singularly blessed with. In the first place, this 'promised' land was not ours to begin with - it was brutally confiscated. So what does our bounty consist of? We may weigh it in terms of having enough. Yet how many of us are actually satisfied with what we possess? We may see it as having endless choice and variety...but how many Happy Campers did you see at the grocery store last week? We may measure it in terms of not having to worry about the future and yet we experience over and again that this is an illusion, as we gnash our teeth at news of another lay-off, or that the stock market is fluctuating radically. We have, and continue to view Bounty as having this planet at our disposal, while we here, consume a staggering 40% of the entire World's resources *. Thes! e are but some of the "reality checks" that we fail to perform, preferring instead to rest smugly on our platitudes. Are we Masters, or Stewards? 

So, what then of "The Poor" in our own midst? Divided into endless categories, though we tend to see them as one, they can fall anywhere between lacking basic necessities to those who fully appreciate and make due with what they have, little as it seems to us. There are those who choose not to participate in The Rat Race. There are those who cannot easily adopt the setting of future goals, for each moment is a trial of endurance. There are those who struggle heroically to 'achieve', and fail...and there are those who can sense no hope like those "lucky people in Africa" who we bestow our sympathy upon. And there are those who feel blessed each day that they have enough. Yet who do we bestow our reverence upon..... 

~ True happiness is not having more, but wanting less. - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 
 
 

Once Upon A Time... 

I learned to sing, because I couldn't afford to buy music. 
I learned to cook, because I couldn't afford to go to restaurants. 
I learned to sew because I couldn't buy new clothes. 
I learned to write my thoughts when I couldn't afford a psychiatrist. 
I learned to make beautiful gifts with Love while I couldn't pay for expensive presents. 
I learned to laugh because there was so much sadness in my life. 
I learned to think because no one had the answers I needed. 
I learned to welcome each Sunrise, for there was so much darkness around me.... 
And I learned to love even The Night, because in darkness, all light is ever the more precious. 
I learned to lend my brother a hand, for I had two that were practiced.... 
Some would say that I have had a hard life. 
Why then do I feel so blessed and content..... 

* David Suzuki - The Nature of Things