My Personal End Poverty Week

A blogger I follow had a post in it that captured my attention. Apparently, by checking in to this too late, I missed Blog Action Day October 15th. I'll have to wait until next year to get involved.

But it made me remember-uncomfortably-earlier today when I felt aggravated that we don't have enough room in our living room to make the 62 inch screen tv look proportional to our other stuff. The TV is a generous gift from my stepson to his dad and me.

Anyway, it forced me to look at some reality that I didn't want to look at while I was feeling sorry for myself.

According to Global Richlist, my spouse and I are in the top .91% richest people in the world! Of course, so are most of us Americans.

In fact, when I was a teenager and was convinced that my mother and I were poor (we were), we were still in the top 12.02 percent.

With the gross excesses that we in this country enjoy, and with all of our collective complaining and demanding of the world's resources, no wonder the rest of the world hates us.

While there are times that my boxer eats better than the humans in our house while we painfully wait for payday, we still eat better and more often than does most of the populated universe.

So. I am making this week my own personal Stomp Out Poverty Week. I am going to do a sort of Lent, or fast.

I will:

1. avoid drinking mass produced drinks like sodas
2. take lunch to work, saving on fuel emissions and cash, and cutting down on waste in packaging
3. will keep my driving to a minimum
4. reuse as many items as possible, within appropriate health limits
5. print only the most necessary paperwork
6. refrain from complaining about my lot in life, and will express gratitude for how blessed I am
7. provide help and assistance to others when possible
8. donate to my local church and donate unwanted items to the Osage Tribal Shelter (because poverty is in our own community)
9. talk to my husband about donating a Christmas meal to a family
10. choose a child on the Angel Tree at Wal-Mart so that a child can recieve something from my family anonymously.

I challenge everyone who reads this here and on my other blog to do the same: do it your way. Decide on ten things you will do this week to chip away at the blight of poverty. Even in hard times, if you have a home to go to, a bed to sleep in, clothes you never wear, food you will probably never eat, blankets you aren't using, warmth and shelter from the elements, you are more fortunate than most of the world.

I'm doing my part this week. How about you?

God bless you and your loved ones this holiday season.


(check out Globalrichlist by clicking on this entrie's title)