Now here’s a thing …….
It is hard to know what to do to make a difference in the current world we occupy. Energy and food crises grow, there is war and natural disasters, politics and economies look unstable creating lots of uncertainty and of course for us as individuals, anxieties. Managing our lives and supporting our families just looks more difficult. Then there is the climate crisis with our globe facing big changes and people everywhere facing scary prospects, if not for ourselves, for the next generation. It is no surprise that we might either want to bury our heads in the sand or panic.
Rational, practical and helpful actions are difficult to identify. It doesn’t have to be like that that we feel helpless, unable to act, to make a differ-ence.
Let’s just take one thing. In our village, based on CWAC data from 2015, at least 10% of households fall beneath the indices for poverty. On the matter of fuel and energy the government plans to give most of us a dollop of cash, an energy cap and a promise of lower taxes. The inequality of a system, that gives financial support to all including those who do not essentially need it, is at best embarrassing and at worst shameful.
So what local action could we take to redress the inequality just a little bit. If we do not need the additional financial support to keep our families warm, safe and fed, we could choose as a community to open a fund and donate all or part of the additional money to provide discrete access to emergency food supplies over the winter for those most under pres-sure in our village.
Let’s act – let’s take more charge – let’s make a difference.
What do you think!
I think that there is a real feeling of shame in having less financial wealth. It makes it hard for people to come forwards when they really don’t have the basics they need. If we can nurture the idea that taking unwanted things off a person’s hands is helping them as much as the receiver that could be part of the solution. Help us get rid of our clutter, help us redirect moneys given but not needed right now. I was thinking about how kindness gets a bit complicated sometimes. Who should I give to, how, when why? Too much thinking gets in the way and so one ignores ones base need to give, receive and through it be part of community.