We don’t tend to think about what basic human needs are in our contemporary society. Many people in the modern world have access to food, clothing, housing, and some means of transportation. The idea of what it means to live within our natural environment does not cross anyone’s minds.
We live in a bubble that is heated and air conditioned year round. But one day, we are inconvenienced by things outside our control.
Perhaps we might be stuck in a vehicle in a snow storm for 2 days. Or a storm takes out the power grid, leaving us without electricity for a week.
Even the thought of such things is nearly unbearable.
We live in a bubble
Perhaps we hear about someone else who lost their job, home, belongings because of a wildfire. Or maybe an article in the news concerning a family who is without access to food and water due to war.
We send off a little bit of money to a charity. Then we feel with smug pride that we have “helped the poor”.
But most of the time, we just ignore them and rarely think about them.
In our comfortable conditions, does is really affect us?
But the real question is, are we that far removed from everyone else?
If we have never experienced true poverty in our own daily lives, we have very little experience in being uncomfortable.
In our comfort, we think that we will never be touched by lack. While at ease, we really don’t consider those who are truly suffering.
But the reality is, those people are part of our human family. What we do to those immediately around us has a rippling affect. Our efforts to those closest to us touches even the lives of those we don’t know.
How?
We don’t live in a vacuum.
First we take responsibility for what we do. Everything we do touches the lives of everyone around us. When we give an example of what it means to live well, we encourage them to live well.
These little actions start small, impacting those immediately near us. Then those acts spread outward when those experiences they learned from us spread to others around them. And it continues until it encompasses the entire world.
“Everything you do matters.
Jordan Peterson
That’s the definition of a meaningful life.”
We don’t live in a vacuum. We live in the fullness of a society that around us.
Think about this…
But what if everything we take for granted was taken from us? Wouldn’t our perspective change? Would we then be able to understand the reality of their plight?
Today you have everything you need. Tonight, an unexpected earthquake happens and your entire house and all your belongings are destroyed. What would you do then?
Or in the early morning hours you find out that you have lost your spouse to an unforeseen accident. You are left empty of their presence.
It is in loss that we find meaning.
Would not those things which seemed to matter so much in your life suddenly take on a new perspective? Would those little things, like the desire to purchase a new car or finding just the right paint color for the walls really seem important?
It is in loss that we find meaning.
Finding our way…
While we have time, we can find out our needs by impoverishing ourselves. It doesn’t have to come through a catastrophic event. If we wish to live better, we can choose to do so.
And that means we need to start giving up stuff.
…when we come face-to-face with the our base humanity that we find what is important. Those times come by choice, or by trial.
Mother Theresa once said that the biggest thing lacking in the West is Love, not material goods. Those things we acquire can create a hit of dopamine, but it wears off quickly. What doesn’t last or serve a long-term purpose is meaningless.
It is when we come face-to-face with the our base humanity that we find what is important. Those times come by choice, or by trial.
If we have time, choice is always the better option.
We can choose to give up the excess.
In the west, we all have too much “stuff”. Decluttering with intention begins a process of discovery. That discovery reveals just how much we have fallen down the rabbit hole of impulsivity.
Frugality is a realistic way of embracing a simple lifestyle. It forces us to determine what really is necessary in our lives. Here is one example to explore:
Choosing to live with only what we need takes a lot of forethought. We have to plan just how far we can attack the avarice in our lives. Do we want to get rid of everything, or get rid of the excess? And are we willing to take control of our spending habits, choosing what we need instead of what we want?
But what is the real goal?
By learning to live with less, we will then be able to more compassionately understand the basic needs of others.
If you choose to reach out to others in need, you must first learn to listen. Listen to those who have nothing. Their simple requests will make more sense.
If you choose to reach out to others in need, you must first learn to listen. Listen to those who have nothing.
It may not be the money you give to charitable organizations that they want. It may not even be a house or car.
Maybe it’s just the knowledge that someone out there loves them and cares about them. And maybe it’s supporting them simply by giving them food, water, or clothing as Mark Horvath does.
We need to connect with the hurting people first…
Mark was once in the television field, and ended up a homeless man living on the streets. Drugs, hopelessness, and in despair. But he raised himself out of his plight when he decided to use his talents to bring awareness of the lives of each of these people.
…when we are removed from the hurting, we don’t understand their humanity.
As in so many situations, when we are removed from the hurting, we don’t understand their humanity. Like reading of the wars in the Ukraine, or the suffering of people in third world countries who have just lost everything. The distance removes their human dignity from us. Almost like watching a video game or movie. It is surreal.
In order to touch the lives of others, we need to understand their humanity first. Not their political opinions or religious affiliations. Not their addictions or personal traumas. But that they are human.
And that they are hurting. Their dignity has been taken from them, or tainted in life experiences.
Then, we can help them because we can hear their voice that, through news outlets and slanted viewpoints, have been silenced.
Then don’t give in a way someone else tells you to.
Yes, reaching out to others will help give not only your life meaning, but those whose lives you touch. But not if you don’t have the means to do so in ways that may not be suited to your abilities.
But not if you don’t have the means to do so in ways that may not be suited to your abilities.
Too many times we are told to live among the homeless, the hurting, the downtrodden. To live among the dispirited and see their plight.
We are told to evangelize, to become a missionary to the community. That the fault of our neighbor’s plight lies at our door.
But what if we can’t?
What if physically, psychologically, emotionally, or financially unable to do so?
“Helping others and always being there for them is a really good thing to do, but don’t overdo it at the expense of yourself. Make sure that you include yourself in the equation. Make sure that you don’t completely wear yourself out in the process.”
By Rowan Abdelmeguid
That doesn’t mean you can’t give to others. But maybe your acts of charity may be given in a different way.
- Smiling at a homeless person on the street, looking them in the eye to acknowledge they exist.
- Being kind to the harried cashier when she’s struggling to do her task.
- When you declutter and you give your goods to a charity, you are touching the lives of those who cannot buy new things.
- Being a participant in a website, like this one, to reach the hurting may help someone who is alone without the means or people to support them. Your voice, your testimony, your story might just touch their lives at the right time.
- The next time you come across someone who is homeless, stop and ask him his story. Let him or her know that they are important just in the fact that you have shown interest in them. Then you might be able to find a way to help them.
That doesn’t mean you can’t give to others. But maybe your acts of charity may be given in a different way.
Opening up your home might not be prudent if you do not know the individual, but maybe you can buy them a meal. Perhaps seek out the charities, like Catholic Charities or other local groups, and let them know about the person you encountered.
If you have a business building houses, maybe finding a way to set aside money for land and simple, single room houses on it for those in need, as this man did in New York:
Acts of charity don’t always need to be big, complicated or expensive.
For many of us, the outreach doesn’t need to take much. It just takes the desire to reach across to someone else. It’s those small things that touch the lives of those you may not even know.
It just takes the desire to reach across to someone else.
As in my own case, it was many people who taught me how to manage my meager income through budgeting. We had help finding a place to live. Food was offered as well as clothing from those dedicated to helping the impoverished.They were little things that added up. And gave us the helping hand up.
But most of all, be that place of refuge.
Give only what you are able to give. In a way that does not diminish who you are.
Then be content knowing that you helped. Even if it only appears to be in a small way.
Being a light of Love can only come from the generosity of one human heart to another.
It is selfless. It is compassionate.
Give only what you are able to give….then share your story.
And it is part of being human.
If you have the desire to help someone overcome their trials, share your story. Encourage someone else who might hurting or feeling hopeless in a way that you have. Show them the light at the end of the darkness does exist by giving them your example.
Give them the hope to strive forward, out of the darkness.
Even if for one more day. Because that one day might give them the renewed vigor they are looking for to overcome their own world of darkness.