Great Hope beyond the Shadows of Society

I have great hope for the world and the many opportunities present in contemporary society. The access to resources, growth in science and technology, developments in education, and a multitude of means for connecting with people that exist in the early twenty-first century is simply astounding. What incredible possibilities there are for industry, recreation, bridge-building, spiritual nourishment, and for alleviating the grave human needs of hunger, poverty, and safety from violence!

However I feel there are quite a number of unnamed, unexposed realities present as shadows to the glittering brightness of mainstream western culture. Often access to resources is limited to a privileged few. Even in the U.S. which has more economic resources than probably any other society in the world there are many people who live in relative poverty and have limited opportunities. Gravely more sad the reality is that nearly 3 billion of the 6.6 billion people worldwide survive on less than $2.00 per day! This really makes what people consider the poverty line in the U.S. look like luxurious living! For me it seems obvious that one serious shadow of society is that some people take too much--use more than their share of resources--leaving many other people to scramble for enough scraps to eek out a living. Given the many resources and advances in education and technology today, how sad it is that more is not being done to alleviate the suffering of so many people.

As a young person living in the U.S. I find it very easy to ignore the painful realities of poverty, suffering, and violence. I could easily continue like many of my peers to numbly watch TV, play video games, buy the next cool thing, experience another enjoyable activity. But as I enjoy the many conveniences, have fun with another purchase or thing, I feel a real emptiness and lack of fulfillment. After how many experiences or how much pleasure will my endless desires be fulfilled? Where will endless consumption and buying lead me and lead contemporary society? I have a feeling that the answers to these questions don't look very hopeful when living with the same activities, thoughts, and attitudes. I believe to find deeper fulfillment and meaning will require stretching beyond mindless indulgence to reach out to other people and to serve what will better us all. I hope to find ways to apply the many resources available to me for the benefit of others and to address the many needs of suffering people in the world.

In reflecting on important realities today I believe clarifying our understanding of resources is necessary. Resources could include economic, knowledge, discipline, energy, food, clothing, shelter, work, family, relationships, spiritual, emotional, political will, abilities, aptitudes, acceptance of unchangeable suffering, and many other things. What I think critical is to avoid reducing resources to economic, energy, political power, etc. which ignores the great spiritual, emotional, and human resources that are just as significant or more so than those that are commonly considered in mainstream culture. With a broad view of resources it is easier to recognize that many people who suffer in poverty are not powerless but actually have great bonds with family, the ability to endure suffering, spiritual commitment, relationships, and ingenuity with meager material and economic resources. Certainly people with access to many economic and material resources could learn much from people who live with poverty especially when it comes to finding fulfillment and contentment with the gifts they do have.