Poverty

This is a topic that I must admit I haven't experienced first hand. However as I'm getting older it's something that has become more important to me.  

My wife and I grew up in small town Saskatchewan.  I have a really close knit family that had a farm and everyone had a massive backyard garden. We never went hungry, ever.  But we also didn't have some of the "luxuries" that my friends had growing up.  This never bothered me because my parents raised me to appreciate what we had not to envy what others had.

My wife and I started our family before we both turned 20.  It was hard, we didn't have alot and we struggled finacially for many years. When we moved to Alberta in 2001 from Saskatchewan it was a shock to say the least.  Culturally the two provinces were at opposite ends of the political spectrum. My wife didn't work and I was making very little at the time. 

We never were below the "poverty line" but if it wasn't for our families helping when they could I think we may very well have slipped below it.  Over the past ten years things have drastically improved for us and we been able to travel quite a bit.  We've been to quite a few central American and Caribbean countries.  We love the culture and the people so much but the poverty has been eye opening.  To see how much people earn and how much it costs people just to eat is tough to comprehend. I know that my family has wasted more than many families in these countries earn in a month, year etc.  

I've been so "busy" working on making my families life better that I've not taken a look at what I can do to improve other's lives. Through my Kung Fu I've developed a higher level of mindfulness and empathy that has helped me see things like poverty in a different light.  I'm beyond thankful for where I was born as we have so much opportunity in this country. At the same time there is poverty all around me and I don't even have to leave my province or country. I'm ashamed to reflect on my own wastefulness as so many people could benefit from what I take for granted and for what I waste.  I would like to say that I've erradicated all of my wastefulness and moved to a minimistic style of living. But that's not true.  I'm working with my family to be more aware of where we are wasteful so that we can change our habits. It's a slow process but we are making the changes and seeing improvement in this area everyday. 

Mr. Repay