Do you know poor?

Do you? I surely hope you do not know what poor really is. I do not wish poor on anyone. I'm sure you have seen many poor people before. They are everywhere. But there are all kinds of levels of poor. Some people say that if you can't afford a car, then you're poor. In some countries, owning a car means you're very rich. Some say that if you can't pay your bills, then you're poor. By U.S. standards, maybe. Others will say that if you live in a run-down house, you're poor. Again, by U.S. standards; maybe. Still others will say that if you can't buy food, then you're poor. True. Poor is no good for anyone. Poor is relevant to each persons situation. You may call yourself poor, but have twice as much as another person. Let me tell you what poor is;
 (I will use the P.I. as an example simply because I see it each and every day!).
Poor is a house with a dirt floor; the windows made out of whatever you can find; no glass. Poor is no electricity, no running water, no heat, no blankets, no clothes, no shoes, and no food. Poor is a roof made of nipa leaves. Poor is cooking all your food on the ground with charcoal or coconut husks. Poor is eating with your hands. Poor is not being able to go to a doctor because you can't afford it. Poor is no life or health insurance at all. Poor is buying just enough rice for that one meal. Poor is owning no underwear at all because that is an extravagance.. THAT is poor!  So do you really know what poor feels like?

Each day I pass by towns full of people wearing only hand-me-down t-shirts, usually with no sleeves. About 95% of the people I see are wearing flip-flops for shoes. Baseball caps are normal, but are many times ones handed out by people running for office. When they play basketball outside, they play in flip-flops. Their open market style is something that almost all U.S. citizens would shudder to shop at, much less eat the food bought there .It is brought in each morning and sold as quickly as possible so it won't go bad.They sell meat, fish, and chicken. Get it fresh early in the morning, or don't get it at all. Veggies and fruit are everywhere, as that is the best value for their money. One carrot or a potato is enough to add to the meat to have a full meal. But there is one thing that most all Filipino's are, and that is clean! They shower two, three, and sometimes four times a day. They use the rivers, or water collected in barrels, or however else they can. I stop by the market every single day to get fresh food. We keep very little in our fridge.
Almost everything bought here is packaged in small quantities, or sachets. In our store we sell catsup packs (8 ounces), shampoo packs (just enough for one shower), cigarettes (one stick at a time), sugar (1/4th of a kilo each), cooking oil (12 ounce bottles, which are also bought by 1/2 bottle, and 1/4th bottle). different coffee brands (one sachet at a time), diapers (one at a time), and many, many other things. All designed and packaged to minimize cost and make everything affordable to the community. If they can afford an electrical hookup, they limit it to using one or two lightbulbs (7 watts each) to keep the cost down. Most just use candles at night. To give you a comparison; I paid 2300 pesos ($40) for my electric bill last month. My two neighbors paid 23 pesos and 8 pesos respectively. In many ways, this type of life lends to more giving and sharing than Americans are used to. We do care, and we do share. But it is different. If a cousin or friend here catches a lot of fish, he will not hesitate to stop by and offer some of the catch to you. He doesn't have to do it. He wants to. If a worker here gets injured and can't work, (remember, no insurance) the family, and even some of the local community, stop by to share rice or food to make sure that his family will be ok. This is very normal.
Don't get me wrong; there are many well-off and even very rich Filipinos,even by U.S. standards, but they are the minority. And the same thing holds true here as it does in the States. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. They are the upper class.
So what is the point of me saying all this. Well, it could be that I'm letting you know that no matter how bad off you may be, there is most definitely someone much worse off than you. Is that really any kind of consolation? No. I'm sure it doesn't help you much to know that. But the main thing I am trying to drive home is something that took me years to finally understand. No matter how small, always count your blessings for what you do have. You may say, yeah great, that helps alot (sarcastic)! But if you actually stop to think about it for even five minutes, you may find that there are most definitely some things or someone that you should be grateful for.
If you are well off, then this message was not really directed at you; or was it? If you are thankful for what you have, either by your own hard work or good fortune, why not help others a bit who have nothing. I'm definitely not talking about helping people who don't even try to help themselves. As I said much earlier, I do not have much regard for those who sit on their ass and do nothing but complain. But there are those that are trying every day, working hard to make it, and need that help or push to get over the edge. They're worth your efforts. Think about it, ok?