get out of your comfort zone, you don't know everything!
There are times when I get out of my own little world (the noisy world that is inside my head at times) to realise that there are people around me who are having an even harder time than most people.
Sometimes I observe the families who shop and see how painful it is that they can only afford to buy certain items and sometimes, not at all. There are people out there who can't seem to get out of the quandary they are in, no matter what. They have become so used to being in the situations they are in, they no longer try to get out of it.
And there are families who are proud and try to make things work on their own and so they live on the bare necessities that life has to offer. I know a lot of people who blame people like these and say it's their fault their lives are like that.
How easy it is to think this way, to wag our fingers and point out their faults. To wind up the car window and block out the person who might come up to the window begging. How presumptuous to assume that all of these people want handouts. While there are some who do, and there are many of these types out there, but there are many who don't. Sometimes all someone might need is a push towards a better life, which will make them see for themselves that anything is possible, and the swift kick in the rear will wake them up to the realization and they not just give up because it all seems so hopeless!
How easy it is for some people to glibly assume that they know everything when they don't! They make assumptions that are not justifiable or fair about others. These people who assume too much are too lost in themselves to see beyond their 'walls' and so they assume that they are so smart and the other person too dumb! They think one way and they run with it!
I mentioned watching Nightline on my previous article, one of the other stories featured on Nightline tonight was about this millionaire from Hawaii who is giving away million dollar homes to families who are homeless. The family featured was a single mom with five children who used to live in a homeless shelter.
It was a type of lottery that she entered, writing an essay and she was chosen to receive the house. It's value, $3 Million! The mom and her children are happy and very grateful for what has happened to them and can't believe their luck. This happening to the family, gave the children, especially the older one, a chance that she too can actually dream of the possibilities of a future, that there is something out there to reach for and make something of herself.
In the mean time, everyone is questioning the motives of this millionaire. Some wonder if he's trying to drive the value of their homes down, and others are speculating that he's doing it for tax reasons. Some even suggested that he should sell one of those homes he owns and help even more people in a bigger sense than just giving homes to families.
The director of the homeless shelter where the woman and her children stayed, disagreed with that. She said that what he (the millionaire) is doing is actually good because he is assisting entire families and they won't come back and continue to be a part of the cycle that brought them to where they were. They actually will learn something and feel more valued and ownership to their future [last sentence not verbatim].
It made me wonder why can't others accept and be happy for someone who now has a permanent roof over their heads? And the fact that the children can learn to become a part of the society at large and actually want to make contributions to it as they get older? The mother, who works at the local phone company can now go to work without worrying about her children. But there is always that ugly thing that rears it's head, NIMBY, not in my back yard.
I guess you can't blame the people who bought their homes in those exclusive neighborhoods so that they wouldn't have to be around people who don't belong there. I guess you can't blame them because after all, there home is an investment that will go down the drain now, the property value might actually drop enough for most people to afford homes in that neighborhood.
There are times when I realise that some people have no clue as to what is really going on in this country or in this world for that matter. Sometimes not because of ignorance, at least I sometimes hope it is that, but because they can't see beyond the 'four walls' that they have built around themselves and never venture too far from, to appreciate another person's experience.
Stepping out of our ready-made boxes is good for our souls, it lets us see how the other half lives, or have to live and makes us even more thankful that it's not your life. Lucky us uh?!
I know people who are so perverse in their behaviour and the way they think, they feel that because they went through a lot to get to where they are now, successful in their lifestyle, they won't lift a finger to help anyone who might need it because those people must go through their own 'stuff' too! How sad! They would rather see someone fall on their face than to even offer a bit of advice. While they don't owe anyone anything and they are not obligated to help anyone, it is sad that they think this way!
Getting out of your comfort zone is good to do, live a little, help someone sometimes. Realise that not everyone can be as lucky as you. It doesn't have to be monetary help. It could be giving someone advice, it could be doing anything you can do to make someone else's life a little better.
Here's an article about the family who got the house: Link