I am a glass-half-full kind of person, as I believe most people are. When a door of opportunity closes I check if the windows are unlocked. If an unfavorable event occurs I try my hardest to interpret the Universe's lesson from it, no matter how angry I am at fate. However, there are some positives I cannot seem to accept, and some people whose happiness I cannot be convinced of - no matter how many times I am reassured.
Sometimes I find it hard to believe that the people of the poorest communities, “though knowing they have nothing, are so content and happy”. And whilst I know I should believe, whilst I see the photos of ragged children with blinding smiles I cant help but think that they would be happier without the necessity to beg, a roof over their head, and a certain future. And I know my presence with my shiny camera hiding half my face only rings this home to them.
I have volunteered with these children whose innocence is universal, and whose spirit is captivating. I have been privileged enough to work in the simple schools and the township squalor that reaches so far from my home of governmental support and award wages that are equal to upper class earnings in other countries. And I'm aware that my presence demonstrates their underprivileged position even more. They know from my language that I come from a lucky country. One they were not lucky enough to be born into.
On the bus one foggy morning into Sydney city, I noticed a woman reading a brochure on an i-to-i Volunteer Project. I am currently writing a thesis on Volunteer Tourism and so couldn't help but ask her about it. I asked her what made her want to take a volunteer holiday and she explained that in her recent trip to Thailand she visited a school and both the people and children had this same happiness I hear so much about. I couldn't help but notice the spiteful sting of pessimism inside me, before scolding myself for being so cynical.
I open the brochures selling self-enlightenment through volunteer holidays and highlighted quotes of past volunteers advertise “The optimism of people who, compared to many here, have very little yet believe in so much – and have the courage to realise their dreams against all odds.” I know we have seen this gracious happiness that illuminates from a simple life, and that a life without the woes of consumerism is one free of shallow worries. But I cannot help but wonder if this idea that those less fortunate are happy with the little they have is just an excuse to alleviate the guilt of the much more that we do.
I know this idea probably doesnt sit well with a few people. Let me know what you think - if you agree or disagree?
by nodebtworldt... | 2010/04/02 |
ReplyDeleteI think trying to define the happiness of one person versus your own definition never works out. It is just like trying to say someone is "rich". What does that mean exactly?
I would say poverty does not automatically mean unhappiness, just like I would NOT say wealth means automatic happiness. So many miserable people in America and the developed world would prove that point.
I agree. Research has demonstrated that above a certain income level, happiness levels (cross-culturally) do not increase. But below a certain income level, happiness levels definitely decrease. Money is a buffer against stress. Illness without access to medical care is so much worse for the sufferer. Money buys food and shelter from the elements, basic physical needs without which humans cannot be happy. The smiling faces of children living in extreme poverty are perhaps despite that poverty, not because of it.
ReplyDelete