Not All Bad . . . Is NOT All Good (Day 11 - August 2, 2011)

There's a perception out there that anyone needing help must be miserable.  Put another way, some think that unless one is miserable then one doesn't really need help.  However, I need to tell you that how somebody feels at any particular moment is absolutely not a good measure of whether or not they need help.  In fact, believing that one must be miserable all the time if they are in need is cruel . . . a little like kicking someone when they are down.

I know that there's that perception out there because I've experienced a real battle within me at times over the last few days as to how people expect me to act versus how I actually feel.  On the one hand, I feel like people expect me to be struggling all the time if I am having a poverty-related experience.  On the other hand, it is not realistic to expect people to stop being people just because they don't have sufficient resources.  Whether you are rich or poor . . . people laugh and find humour in life, people have sad moments and happy moments, people love and hurt.  Poverty is a fact, not an emotion.  In fact, I take my hat off to those who can live in squalor, without their basic rights being met, and still be able to find something to smile about.

While my self-sacrifice done during this project is small compared to the plight of many, I have struggled at times but I have also found reason to smile.   The above photos captured this past weekend provide evidence of these "smiley times".  The first picture shows one of the simple pleasures in life . . . putting one's feet into cold, fresh creek water in order to cool off on a hot day.  The second picture shows me washing some dishes, not unlike one would volunteer to do at a shelter or for a host when food has been provided.  Why so happy?  Because it was delightful being able to hang around my family as I did the dishes.  I've missed the sounds of daily routine while outside, and it was a pleasure to have them around me a little longer before I had to head back outside (yes . . . even if it meant scrubbing crud off of dishes).

So, I think the learning for all of us today is that poverty is not about being sad . . . or being happy . . . it is about a set of factual circumstances in which a person may find themselves regardless of whatever emotion they are feeling at the moment.  Similarly, alleviating poverty is not about turning that frown upside down, but rather is about protecting and fulfilling their basic human rights and creating situations where people are better able to reach their potential.  Being happy or sad are simply choices that people make regardless of whether they are rich or poor.  That said, it sure would be nice if no one had to try to be happy while hungry, or without water, or trapped in poverty in one of its many forms.

Hey!!  I'm That Poverty Guy . . . let's make a world of difference together.