I have overheard the wife of a family of four say that she is ashamed for being poor and for her husband collecting glass bottles in parks and on streets so he can sell them for a couple of cents,s o he can accumulate some dollars to buy his kids a sweet or two.

A different perspective

I’d like to bring up a point to consider: It is not the ones not having money and being poor, that should be ashamed for not having more and for having to beg, or collect bottles in parks so you can sell them for couple of cents for two weeks so you can buy your kids a sweet or two for two to five dollars.

If anyone then it is the ‘world’, all of us as humanity that should be ashamed to the ground for accepting, allowing and continuing such a corrupt and dysfunctional system where money and resources that - are in fact available abundantly - and make a dignified life possible, are not distributed equally; are not flowing to every human being so that everyone has their basic life needs covered to the extent that they can live comfortably and call it ‘living’ and not a daily struggle, survival and fight.

What is 'Out There' is what is 'In Here'

We, on an individual level, must look deep inside ourselves and see and find where we accept and allow patterns and attitudes and 'ways of living' that we do to ourselves or to others in the small moments of everyday life that are same or similar in nature to the patterns, problems and stuff going on in the world, in the bigger picture. Then we must work through these patterns and acceptances inside ourselves, find and live solutions, change ourselves to support ourselves and do what's best for us in the small to the big moments. Then we will be able to consider and do what's also best for everyone else. Because then we realize that we could be that somebody else in another life. So, we, each one of us, are in effect responsible for the problems in the bigger picture, in the world out there. Why? Because they only represent the same patterns, points, attitudes and acceptances that we live and do in our own individual lives in our everyday living in the small, average and ‘menial’ moments, either to ourselves or to someone else. And when we accept such patterns inside ourselves towards us and others in the small moments of everyday life, then we are/become okay with and accept them when they are done on a bigger scale (in the world) by someone or groups of people that impact hundreds, thousands or millions of lives. Point is: It all starts With Self. It all starts Inside Self. Therefor, we each are responsible for everything that exists in this world. The patterns are the same, they are just scaled up (the world) or down (our individual life, groups, societies, and so on).

Conclusion

Let's investigate the internal patterns, inside us, that we accept, allow, tolerate and live daily, which are not the best for ourselves, in the sense that they aren't really the experience or type of life we would really want to continue for the rest of our lifetime. Let's start honoring ourselves, the life in and as us first. Let's start treating ourselves with respect first. Let's start supporting ourselves through emotional and feeling challenges first. Let's treat the people in our everyday life we encounter with support and do in thought, word and deed only what we would be accepting and wanting others to do onto us. Let's start with how we live everyday life, our life. It starts with self. Change starts with self first. The world is but a reflection and manifestation of the internal patterns and stuff we accept, allow, tolerate and keep living in everyday life to ourselves and other people in our immediate reality.

Do well,
Nebi :)