January 19 – Respecting the Downtrodden: To Respect the poor of your community, it is necessary to treat them as human beings — not as “poor people”. Pity, sympathy and worry only serve to entrench the challenges faced by our brothers & sisters who are “materially challenged”. Keeping this in kind, go forth today into an impoverished community and look for ways to Do Good without exuding any pity or sadness to/for its residents. Invite others around you to help you do so.

My first thought upon reading this entry was of the mass of faceless and nameless “downtrodden” that are easily found in every American city of even modest size. They are the penniless and the hungry and the homeless who so many ignore while going about their “more important” day-to-day activities.

I am personally more aware of these folks because I chose to join their ranks for almost two years of my life. And while living as a homeless man, I realized a few things not readily evident to the “normal citizen”.

I realized that most of the “poor” in our society are not “lazy addicts” and that very few of them are “dangerous”. Indeed, just like you and I, almost all of them are tender with loved ones …

they are humble …

they are patient …

and they are loyal friends.

Of course, the most important thing I learned while homeless is that the greatest gift that we can give to others – especially to the “downtrodden”, is a recognition of their humanity that is both sympathy-free & pity-free. Regardless of what we choose to give them (or not give them), we can all pause long enough to See them as fellow human beings who are equally worthy of our respect and kindness.

And then I had another revelation — one that seems to be just as important.

While this task can very well be fulfilled in the traditional fashion of visiting an impoverished neighborhood and doing some good there (without extending pity or sympathy), I realized that there are other, more insidious forms of “poverty” that also call for our attention. Being kind to “poor people” is truly a good thing to do, and yet who is truly POOR?  Is poverty only tied to a low income or a lack of a personal home, or did it have more to do with a low level of satisfaction in life?

In my personal experience, the latter “poverty” is much more potent and much more deserving of our Compassion. After all, both secular studies as well as personal experience have shown that “poor people”, as long as their base needs are met, actually have a higher level of Contentment & Joy in their lives than the materially “wealthy”. The faces on the family members in the following two photos illustrate this psychological reality well enough …

So who then is truly poor? What other people are equally worthy of our pure, sympathy-free compassion?

First and foremost, the fearful are poor …

… as are those who are either frustrated or angry (both of which are nothing more than crystallized forms of fear).

Anger & fear pervade our society, tainting every interaction that is not consciously kind. It is our privilege to awaken to this fact, and act accordingly by showing gentleness to all the fearful & the annoyed people we encounter.

Secondly, there are those “poor” who choose to be dissatisfied with their lives –

those who are stern & serious instead of Joy-full …

… those who are critical & negative instead of Grateful …

… and those who are indignant & aggressive instead of Peace-full.

All these folks have valid reasons for being stern or disgusted or judgmental, of course, and yet the fact also remains that they have chosen a way of expressing themselves that robs them of their own Joy — and that ultimately proves to be counterproductive to their aims as well.

Thirdly, there are those who have succumbed to their primitive desires – those who are addicted to physical substances …

… those who set aside their True Selves in order to “fit in” — in order to be accepted by others …

… and those who strive vainly for “security” & “stability” in a world of constant flux that will never be either.

All these people have sacrificed their own immediate sense of well-being for illusory fantasies that cannot be realized.  Once this is understood, we can more readily extend them Compassion as well.

And finally, because comfort & ease are the leading causes of the spiritual stagnation that leads to a meaningless existence, and because it is so difficult to break free of the clutches of the desire for such superficial pleasures, we can extend our Compassion to those who are truly the poorest of all:

the “wealthy”, whose material abundance intensifies their fear of losing the same, and that neuters their ability to deeply connect with others …

the “beautiful”, whose attractiveness entrenches their fear of not being desirable, and that intensifies the gulf of loneliness that separates them from true Happiness …

and the “powerful”, whose influence solidifies their fear of being used, and that castrates their ability to be truly Kind.

All the afore-mentioned are traits of a person who has chosen to live from the impulses of the ego, as opposed to the inclinations of the Soul — an existence that is by its very nature hollow, and that by its very nature precludes them from knowing true Joy.  Their lives become brittle shadows of what they once were.

And to the degree that this is so, these people are already dead, and merit our deepest and most sincerest level of pity-free & sympathy-free Love.
Let us go forth today, then, to seek out these “lost Souls” and extend them the gentleness we normally reserve for small children and loved ones.

See You when I see you …

… and until then, Be Now!

Scaughdt

Filed under: 366 Days of Kindness by Scaughdt