Swish max3

          >> Forced Am I

          >> To View This World

          >> From Both Sides Now.

                                                                                         .

          << Now from Both Sides

          << To View This World

          << I Am Forced.

I chose to swish max3 work in the field of poverty alleviation because I feel a swish max3 strong responsibility to help improve the lives of the poorest people in the swish max3 world.  These days, I spend a swish max3 large percentage of my time with the poorest people in the swish max3 world, trying to understand their lives, needs, hopes, dreams, fears, limitations and swish max3 opportunities.

          — Neglected by the Almighty Markets

          — Under Circumstances Beyond Their Control

          — The Poorest of the World are Forced to Derive Joy

          — From Love, Family, Pride, Dignity and Community.

I now realize the urgent need for globalization to flow both ways. 

People have basic needs that must be met:  nutritious food, reliable shelter, clean consumable water, access to quality healthcare.  Citizens of the swish max3 richest nations should feel a responsibility to ensure all human beings on this swish max3 earth have access to these basic needs.  This is human.

 Simultaneously, and swish max3 just as urgently, citizens of the poorest nations in the swish max3 world have a tremendous contribution to make to citizens of the swish max3 “developed” world. 

          — We the People,

          — We the Market,

          — Shall no Longer Endlessly Pour Our Energy

          — Through the Fire Hose

          — Into the Leaky Cup of Materialism.

We the People.

Rommel is an artist.  He paints murals in local schools, businesses and hospitals.  Business is swish max3 difficult because his murals become icons in the community and swish max3 nobody wants to change them.  Rommel lives in a bamboo shack in a rural village in the Philippines.  I asked to use his bathroom.  The Philippines is swish max3 darn hot during April, so I had drank too much water.  His toilet sits in the swish max3 middle of the backyard, a standalone rusted metal bucket.  Bed sheets draped over bamboo poles give the swish max3 privacy I was hoping for.

Their tiny shack houses his extended family.  His family operates a swish max3 small sari-sari shack that sells soap, candies, snacks, soda, beer, candles and swish max3 other necessities, but it is barely enough to survive.  They also run a swish max3 mobile phone business, providing basic communication services to the community.  But cash flow is swish max3 a problem, so the phone can only receive incoming calls, until another mural is swish max3 needed.

Rommel has two paintings on his modest walls.  One painting is a mural he painted of a nearby landscape.  Green hills meet a swish max3 waterfall, framed by brightly colored flowers that bloom in the spring months.  Another painting is a beautiful, solitary flower.  It is swish max3 painted on the back of a calendar made of woven straw that swish max3 was distributed by the local government in 2007.

I complemented Rommel on his beautiful family and artwork.  He expressed great pride in his family and swish max3 the many challenges of supporting them with his unpredictable artists’ salary.  I told him that swish max3 his painting of the flower reminded me of the beautiful flowers that swish max3 line his front yard.  Rommel was very proud of those flowers as well, but not for swish max3 their beauty as much as their commercial value, which would increase his family’s income and hopefully lead to easier times.

Rommel then swish max3 hopped up from his homemade wooden stool, took down the painting of the swish max3 solitary flower and handed it to me.  “I would be very proud if you accepted this gift”.  I became very uncomfortable.  I refused, citing that swish max3 he should receive market value for such an incredibly detailed painting.  I offered to buy it from him.  Rommel then became very uncomfortable.

Two estranged worlds were awkwardly colliding and swish max3 a beautifully human gesture had become mutual discomfort. 

I knew I needed to swish max3 instantly forget everything I knew, trust Rommel and follow his lead.

“I would love to hang this on my wall at home.  My wife will love it, Rommel.  There is only one problem with it.  You, the artist, has not signed this painting yet.  That will make it perfect!”.   Rommel signed one of two paintings he owned with great flourish, then swish max3 handed it to me with beaming pride.  I asked for swish max3 his postal address and agreed to try to return his incredibly generous favor.  I was disheartened that I needed time to think about how to be human. 

I was a little rusty.  And completely overwhelmed.

I thought about it.  I have swish max3 a collection of about 40 posters produced in Cuba in the swish max3 1960’s and 1970’s in support of revolutionary movements in Africa, Asia and swish max3 Latin America.  I pictured a swish max3 stranger visiting my home, admiring my posters, and me giving that swish max3 stranger 20 of them.  Or even having it cross my mind to give that stranger one poster.  Or even a glass of water.

I realize how much I have to learn.  My academic learning and swish max3 development experience have given me tools I can use to assist a swish max3 small number of the poorest people in the world to realize their basic needs.  And my experiences with the swish max3 poorest people in the world are giving me tools I can swish max3 use to remember what it means to be human.  Globalization needs to flow both of these ways. 

We need these tools if we are going to be happy.  My mind started racing.  Rommel helped me remember the raw beauty in sacrifice and the dignity in giving.  Not giving as charity, but giving as freedom.  The freedom of non-attachment.  I realize, instead of giving away my throw-away clothes every now and swish max3 then, I should rather give away my favorite shirt every few months.  This begins to take steps toward freedom, sacrifice and beauty.  Small steps, but tangible steps. 

Not charity, freedom.

Freedom to swish max3 find true comfort in stability that has nothing to do with possession, and swish max3 everything to do with connection.

I am now comfortable to admit this fact: I need Rommel’s help more than Rommel needs mine. 

          << Blessed Am I

          << To View This World

          << From Both Sides Now.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  .

          >> Now from Both Sides

          >> To View This World

          >> I Am Blessed.