Yesterday was the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. I want to share an article I wrote last year for this purpose:
The 17th of October has been set aside as the international day for the eradication of poverty. In line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development goals, the aim is to end all forms of poverty. I expect that everyone who knew about this before now would have been thinking of what to give to someone in need, then those who didn’t have an idea can make plans to give, I’m sure you just thought of someone in need now.
I remember reading Richard Gere’ s story of how he went undercover as a homeless man and only one person gave him what he needed, nobody recognized him as the famous movie star, he was invisible. Invisibility became more than people’s responses to him, it became his own perception of himself. He understood how that felt and ensured he gave out food and $100 each, to homeless people he came across when he had completed his mission.
This brings me to another form of poverty, the one of the mind. The one that makes a rich man feel poor even when he has all he needs and more. The one that stops a person from giving anything, for fear of insufficiency. The one that keeps someone insecure, just because of comparison with someone else. This is the most dangerous form, as far as I am concerned, because it can imprison an individual for ages, even after the financially poor man has picked up.
As we all put in efforts to eradicate poverty, what do you think we can do to eradicate poverty of the mind collectively since those entangled in it may not believe they fall into that category, or bother reading liberating materials? Kindly send in your thoughts.
Have a nice giving week!!!
Sources: UN website, Yahoo