Journal entry by Al Negstad — 37 minutes ago
Poverty is on obvious display in my Thai life. An elderly woman sits on the sidewalk next to a stack of pastries trying to earn a little money. Old men walk miles every day selling this and that hoping to eke out a living. A woman stands next to a vat of boiling oil in the tropical heat deep frying chicken to keep body and soul together. Sleek luxury automobiles whiz by them on the street.
For Thai, this is accepted as karma, the rewards of a past life are being played out. This doesn't work for me. Why I am alive, healthy and affluent enough to do what I want to do? It's all gift, for which the only appropriate response is gratitude. How can I take credit for my parentage, place of birth, genetic makeup or the myriad opportunities that flow my way?
My comfortable middle class lifestyle insulates me from contact with poverty in America. In Thailand poverty is much more on display and in a culture that doesn't not offer the protections we take for granted. Think of the situation of a single mother as an example. There are no child support laws so a woman with a child, who is abandoned by her husband or boyfriend, is in a perilous position. She may have an extended family for support or perhaps a job skill. If not she is in dire straits. She has no marriage prospects, there is virtually no chance she will marry. How is she to support herself and her child or children? Many turn to prostitution and thus they are victimized again. In Thailand the poor are readily seen...see the pictures some of which are repeats.
Whatever happens, I hope I never lose my sense of gratitude!
Blessings,
Al
Pictures: 1. woman in her open air, kitchen in an alley, only her stove is permanent, 2. elderly woman selling pastries on the sidewalk, 3. a peddler pushing a cart with things for children for sale, 4. grandma sleeping on the sidewalk as she takes a break from the family food stall. 5. a woman's food stand on a sidewalk with food to go
For Thai, this is accepted as karma, the rewards of a past life are being played out. This doesn't work for me. Why I am alive, healthy and affluent enough to do what I want to do? It's all gift, for which the only appropriate response is gratitude. How can I take credit for my parentage, place of birth, genetic makeup or the myriad opportunities that flow my way?
My comfortable middle class lifestyle insulates me from contact with poverty in America. In Thailand poverty is much more on display and in a culture that doesn't not offer the protections we take for granted. Think of the situation of a single mother as an example. There are no child support laws so a woman with a child, who is abandoned by her husband or boyfriend, is in a perilous position. She may have an extended family for support or perhaps a job skill. If not she is in dire straits. She has no marriage prospects, there is virtually no chance she will marry. How is she to support herself and her child or children? Many turn to prostitution and thus they are victimized again. In Thailand the poor are readily seen...see the pictures some of which are repeats.
Whatever happens, I hope I never lose my sense of gratitude!
Blessings,
Al
Pictures: 1. woman in her open air, kitchen in an alley, only her stove is permanent, 2. elderly woman selling pastries on the sidewalk, 3. a peddler pushing a cart with things for children for sale, 4. grandma sleeping on the sidewalk as she takes a break from the family food stall. 5. a woman's food stand on a sidewalk with food to go
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