Reflections

Tonight sleep eludes me. And rather than being stressed about it, I made myself a cup of mint tea and sat down to blog.

You'd think that an inability to sleep would be accompanied by some brilliant insights and poetic prose, but the truth is that I've got nothing. I spent some time reading the blog of my friend Sarah (http://sparrowanne.blogspot.com) who's in Thailand right now and it made me feel... peacefully and ponderfully melancholy. (Can you be ponderful?) For some time now, I've felt a burden for those who suffer around the world, and Sarah has been able to see them, talk to them and tell their stories.

The solutions are not simple. Poverty is an illness with deep, deep roots. The causes are complex and diverse. But, more importantly, it is a big part perspective. To thrust North American culture on any people group would be a grave evil, I feel. We look at those who suffer from malnutrition, illiteracy and poverty and say, "you should be like us, we'll help." But they look at us, suffering from materialism, greed and obesity... We don't have it all together either.

But at least we have options. And I think the goal to alleviate poverty should be that... to give people options.

Of course, I talk as someone who has never experienced it firsthand. The closest I come to "the poor" is whiny university students complaining about another tuition increase which is going to be covered by the government anyway.

It's easy to come up with solutions to problems that don't affect you and that you don't understand. But while I feel mostly powerless over here in my comfy chair at my fancy computer, I still feel convicted.

What's a girl to do?