Eradicating The Heart of Poverty
Poverty can sometimes only be a state of mind, based on our perception and what we value in life. It is also a disheartening reality for many. The Webster dictionary describes poverty as having a chronic need for money and material goods. How many of us in America one of the richest countries in the world, have this chronic need to have and desire more and more?
Earlier this year I visited my native country of Belize. A relative of mine invited me to her country home. I noticed that my cousin took a lot of food supplies with her. I did not question her actions but noted that she said we were going for one night. After we got to our destination, I went exploring by myself. When I returned she invited me to accompany her as she visited with some of the local villagers. She drove about a mile along a lagoon that was partially dried up. As we neared the end of the sand path she pulled up in front of a shack. She greeted a rather plump girl who appeared very young. As they exchanged greetings, the woman's face lit up. My cousin handed her a large portion of the food supply she had brought with her. The woman thanked her and went on to say she had some wonderful news. Without hesitating she began to narrate the events of her day. She attended church that morning. After the service commenced the pastor placed fifty dollars in her hands! She said, she rejoiced as she walked back home.
"When I left for church this morning she continued, I did not have any money. There wasn't any food in my house to feed my children." She ended with; "Something tells me that this is only the beginning of many good things to come."
Later that day, after our initial encounter I talked with her a little more. I asked her about her family and children. She was indeed very young. I was almost twice her age. I did not see that we had much in common, with having a number of children as the exception. I shared that with her. I did not see the point in sharing much else. She was bubbly and cheerful the whole time we chatted. I responded to her in our native tongue. Doing so enabled me to identify a little more with her. She was blessing me in an unusually way. I began to examine myself. If I was ever poor I was not cognizance of it. This woman had a richness of spirit. Did this is mean that I now possessed a poorness of soul? Or had my priorities changed? How could that poverty-stricken woman be so satisfied with her nothingness? I have so much and I aspire to have much more.
Hunger is a daunting reality that ravishes the body and eventually deprives it of its very being. Slavery and abuse brings about poverty for many. They bind up any one who becomes a victim to any of them. Of any of these do we know which the more potent offenders are? In our quest to eradicate poverty should we try to eliminate every circumstance that brings it into being?
Charity begins at home. If we are unable to see the need of those around us, chances are that we will not be able to comprehend the needs of others we are not familiar with. Aren't our own children starving for our love and attention? Do we as parents even have enough time for ourselves? Is our busyness justified because it emanates from our trying to fill our children's and our own chronic need for money and material things? Are we in our country of abundance dying because we have this deep hunger within our souls? Are we enslaved by our possessions? Is this the reason we are less able to give? Are we trying to fill our own hunger with material wealth and entertainment? Is this the reason our deprived children are dying via their own hands? Can we truly as another sort of improvised nation make a significant contribution when we too are suffering as a result of our own wants?
I applaud Live 8 for the wonderful job they are doing in bringing about world wide awareness. After coming face to face with poverty, I had to examine my own thought process. I made no attempt to influence the young woman's beliefs or to discourage or encourage her with my ideals. I believe that the first step is to accept that wealth and poverty come in many forms. People can be rich with material things but poor in morals and relationships. In contrast others can be poor in material things but content with the things that bring meaning to their lives. It is essential however, that all human beings have the basic necessities, like clean water, food and shelter.
For the most part, funds contributed to aid in providing these basic needs are not enough to reach all areas of our world. Individually one may not be able to contribute a large portion of money but together our help makes a difference. Who needs twelve pairs of shoes when they can only wear one pair at a time? Think about contributing the four dollars you spend a day for coffee, to help provide clean water for an entire village.
Ruth Andrews Garnes was born in Belize the second of six children. She moved to New York City at age eighteen. After studying nursing she worked in the emergency room in Bellevue Hospital. She currently resides with her husband and seven children in the Houston Texas area. Having always had a heart for hurting children she adopted four sisters. Through her writings she hopes to be able to make a difference to hurting children everywhere by giving a voice to their struggles.
visit her web-site at http://home.earthlink.net/~rgarnes
 Google News Updated : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:50:53 GMT GOP Officials Hope for Stability From McCain - New York Times
New York Times - By ADAM NAGOURNEY and ELISABETH BUMILLER Republican leaders across the country said Saturday that they were worried that Senator John McCain was heading for defeat unless he brought stability to his presidential candidacy and settled on a clear message ... Antiwar Protestor Disrupts McCain Iowa Rally Obama needs 75 percent turnout in Philadelphia, says Rendell Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:23:47 GMT Nobel Peace Prize winner wants jobs for the young - International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune - AP HELSINKI, Finland: Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari said Saturday that finding jobs for more than 1 billion young people in the Middle East and Asia will be a major challenge to peacebuilding in the next decade. Video: Ex-Finland President Wins Nobel Peace Prize Nobel Finn Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:12:07 GMT US space tourist set for blast-off - Reuters
Reuters - By Maria Golovnina BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - US video game magnate Richard Garriott will blast off into space aboard a Russian spaceship on Sunday watched by his father, a NASA astronaut who went into space at the height of the Cold War. US space tourist set for launch Russian space chief reassures US partners Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:10:50 GMT Gay Marriage Is Ruled Legal in Connecticut - New York Times
New York Times - In Hartford, Crystal Pretzman of Willimantic, Conn., celebrated the State Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage. Video: Connecticut Court Allows Gay Marriage Marriage ruling not the end of debate in Conn. Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:13:08 GMT YouTube to play full TV episodes with ads - Afterdawn.com
Afterdawn.com - Google has announced that it will begin offering full-length TV episodes through its YouTube platform beginning this week, thanks to a content deal with CBS. YouTube to Offer TV Shows With Ads Strewn Through YouTube beams up Star Trek for long-form video, prominent new ads Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:13:12 GMT Got $700 Billion? Sweat the Details - New York Times
New York Times - The bailout plan gives Henry M. Paulson Jr., the Treasury secretary, three broad choices in buying assets. By ALAN S. BLINDER THE House of Representatives was against the bailout bill before it was for it. US firms up plan to buy into banks to stem crisis Paulson Indicates Need to Purchase Bank Equity `Soon as We Can' Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:39:07 GMT World is united to tackle financial crisis, IMF says - MarketWatch
MarketWatch - By Rex Nutting WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Financial policymakers from 180 nations around the world are united in their resolve to tackle the financial crisis, Youssef Boutros-Ghali, head of the International Monetary Fund's policy committee, ... G7 nations face going cap in hand to China Finance officials comments at IMF meetings Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:23:46 GMT Get Paid for Surveys |
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... Have you come to a point in your life and... Read More First, let me share a quote from Ashlee Simpson's latest... Read More What you believe in the inside, to a large extent... Read More Direct Answers - Column for the week of December 30,... Read More I have a standing interview every Monday morning on a... Read More What are you passionate about? We didn't ask if you... Read More My friend Hugh Jeffries died. He was a wealthy man.... Read More Do you remember looking up through the branches of a... Read More I thought you might enjoy reading a professional article I... Read More Purpose. What is purpose? Drinking coffee when you wake up... Read More All this week I have been singing.This week I have... Read More Not long ago, I attended a seminar that featured Naomi... Read More Every morning when singer-songwriter Michael Alan looks into the mirror... Read More "If you are pained by external things, it is not... Read More I have always been fascinated by the concept of "wishing.",... Read More The other day I found myself frustrated with the slow... Read More We all love picnics. They represent a fun time as... Read More Poverty can sometimes only be a state of mind, based... Read More 1 Samuel 16:7"...The Lord does not look at the things... Read More "Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the... Read More Direct Answers - Column for the week of November 11,... Read More Are you ready for a change? Is it time for... Read More The eyes are the portals of the inner self; the... Read More Just imagine how it would feel to be successful...., to... Read More Something happened to me some years back that is worthy... Read More
Adsense
websites
Does Your Childhood Hold You Back?
Blasting Out of the Shadows: The Power of Your True Voice
Follow Your Dreams: Believe In You
Without Love
How to Guarantee a GREAT Day Every Day!
Discover Your Passion
Pay It Forward
Look To Trees To Help You Keep Balanced And Focused While Achieving Your Dreams
Where Has All the ENCHANTMENT Gone? Long Time Passing
A Life of Purposes Extraction
Anam Cara - Finding a Song for the Heart
Naomi and the 5 Life Lessons
Musicians Survival was Truly a Miracle: Singer Songwriter Fights for his Life
Attitude Adjustment
Careful What You Wish For...
Vistas
Food for Thought
Eradicating The Heart of Poverty
Character is Whats Left When You Leave
Keep Hope Alive
A Pickup Line
Lifestyle Changes ? A Conscious Choice!
Dreams Keep Us Going
I Dare You To Be Successful
The HUGE Deposit of Diamond in You
Affordable and Reliable Web Hosting Starting at $4.49/Month
Energy Work Basics Part 2: What Lifts Your Spirit?
Remember, everything is made of energy. Each of us has... Read More
Be a Star in Your Own Life
Do you have the charactertics to be star in their... Read More
Lifes Purpose
To every life, there is a purpose; a purpose of... Read More
Realistic Living
" The fountain of content must spring up in the... Read More
A Dream is Just a Dream ... Or is It?
Some people dismiss dreams as nonsense, thought patterns running amuck... Read More
One Night Stand
Direct Answers - Column for the week of February 24,... Read More
Anchors Away!
If we want to fill our heads with the doom... Read More
Head First
I stepped up to the edge and looked down. I... Read More
Everyone Has Been Hurt ....Part 6
Continued....I have since grown a lot. I have grown through... Read More
A Life of Purposes Extraction
Purpose. What is purpose? Drinking coffee when you wake up... Read More
Perception
My friend Donald said to me one evening, "this is... Read More
Inspired Intuition - Following Your Inner Voice
"Some people call the still, small voice insight or intuition?Our... Read More
Inspiration From Other People - Is It Worth Listening To A Film Star?
Yesterday, I listened to an interview with Michael York, the... Read More
The Seasons of Life, Part 1 of 5
Life is about constant, predictable patterns of change. For the... Read More
If I Hurt You, Then Im Sorry
This statement has stopped many a war in my house.... Read More
Two Drops Of Water
Direct Answers - Column for the week of June 17,... Read More
Is the Life Youre Living the Life You Want?
In pre-revolutionary Russia, a rabbi was walking to the synagogue.... Read More
My Next Year With Jesus (Joyful Reflections On My Walk With The Lord)
The one question I keep coming back to is..."Am I... Read More
Lance Armstrong an Inspiration
Lance Armstrong has already proven he is the greatest athlete... Read More
The Art of Selfishness
Mature selfishness is the cornerstone of effectively living with passion... Read More
To Thine Own Self
Direct Answers - Column for the week of December 6,... Read More
Once in a Lifetime
A subscriber recently wrote to me and asked me to... Read More
Small Steps, Great Strides
Sacred space, sacred timeBelieve in your personal power, retrieve if... Read More
Brilliant Autumn: Reaping a Bounteous Harvest
"But if in your thought you must measure time into... Read More
Have You Lost Focus?
Matthew 5:14-16You are the light of the world. A city... Read More
Inspirational |