Introduction
Being rich to many people is not a reality. In fact for 98% of the worlds population, this is not the case. For we have in varying degrees, what we need in order to survive such as basic necessities. Many millions in fact, do not. But the sort of richness I speak of can be found by anyone, whether they are the most powerful individual, to the poorest of citizens. The dreams and aspirations of humankind have remained largely unchanged since the earliest writing systems developed some 12000 years ago, if not before. One could argue, that in todays world. We live in far more comfortable conditions now (thanks to advances in medicine) than we did 200 years ago. Yet, despite all of our technological progress, it could be argued that we face even greater perils than we did before. Before the 2nd and 1st world wars, the world as we know it thought very differently than we do now about technology. Adverts shown in theaters, newspapers and magazines promised us how technology would improve the quality of our lives.
And while for the most part that is true, the kind of 'quality' meant by the people of this time did not only refer to innovation. But, pointed to a much deeper element of the human condition. Our sense of wellbeing. Now wellbeing should not be confused entirely with the emotion of base happiness alone, being well may produce feelings of happiness such as joy and appreciation. But wellbeing in itself is just that, being well. Think about the word disease for a moment and then break it down, dis-ease. For what well being depends on compared with the subjective nature of happiness, are more concrete notions. For wellbeing itself has been an integral part of innovation throughout the ages, except geared more towards our sense of convenience.
For example, before the printing press was developed in the 1500s, being able to obtain or posses a book (let alone write one) were extremely difficult and expensive to come by. This is because producing anything in written form was an expensive and timely affair, for starters one had to be educated first in order to be able to write and understand written language. And, consequently due to the nature of this particular period in history, education was only provided to the very rich and wealthy. The likes of peasants or 'common people' would have rarely had such opportunity. And without the Gutenberg printing press, such a convenience would never have come about. But, as with most things like this. They did not solve our human problem.
So, where am I going with all of this rambling? What point am I attempting to drive home? What is our human problem? Well for that last question I'll leave that for you to decide. I mentioned at the start that the richness I speak of can be obtained by anyone, I can only offer you my own experience. I hope that this post can help you in finding something similar.
Gratitude is a feeling you can find plenty of books on, YouTube media and the like. Poetry can be just as inspiring. One such poem I would recommend to anyone reading this is the life test, given by Edith Sampson on what makes a life well lived. That is a poem that changed the very course of my life!
But gratitude, while very beneficial is not what I'll be covering here.
Buried Treasures
It is my firm belief that we all have a treasure trove inside of us, some of us enrich them, others deplete their own and sometimes, a handful of bad apples try to deplete or rob others. And some are so unhappy in themselves they do not recognize they have one in the first place. But this treasure trove is there, it is real. The treasure trove is you.
One contention that could be made against this is;
"My life is horrible, unbearable and I suffer all the time", how can this help me in any way shape or form? Isn't it easy to speak easy like this, when your in a comfortable position yourself?"
Statements such as this should not be taken lightly, nor milked nor downplayed in your response. When we are trying to help a person and we are met with these challenges, they need to be faced head on and provided with the firm answer it deserves. In this hypothetical situation, personally I would use my treasure trove to help them. Part of that treasure for me is my understanding of history, for this situation. The story of a daring prison escape in south Africa during the apartheid.
Three men escaped from a high security political prison, their sentences ranged from 8-12 years for trying to spread information that promoted the inclusion of black people. Something that at the time (1970s-1990s) the South African government was dead against. And, these men were thrown into a dark cell for standing up against racial discrimination. All three had little to go off in terms of their escape, but they each used what little they had. And started there. They started first with what they knew, and worked their way backwards. After just over 400 days into their sentence, they made their escape out of the prison.One could say their resourcefulness and bravery is what got them out, but without an inner richness. Their escape plans would never get off the ground, for one must have inner skills of determination, passion and resourcefulness in the first place to put these into physical action.
Now, this same notion is something I've often used in times of extreme hardship. As a child growing up in the state care system, I was subject to violent bullying, which included both in my home life and school life. On one occasion, I was tied up by two males and tortured for 4 hours. Before they set the landing on fire and the fire brigade had to pull me out. When I left the care system at 16, I almost immediately became homeless. Either through choice out of not wanting to live with a highly abusive father, or an extremely mentally unwell mother. Sleeping rough really was the lesser of two evils. And so I understand very much, what its like to have circumstances beyond your control meddle with your life, or the very idea of worrying about whether you will eat that day will ever happen.
Pulling Yourself Out
I use the term pull yourself rather emphatically here, because having someone help you out of a bad situation is never guaranteed, in this life, safety is an uncertain state of affairs. Especially where strangers are concerned. For me, getting off the streets and out of the rut I was in, was no easy task. And boy can you believe it took the help of other people to do it, a little luck and a burring determination to never give up.
Around ten years ago I was on a bus, heading to a town I had never been to before. In my pocket was a return ticket back to my fathers city. And everything was riding on this visit. A friend of mine was at university, at the time I had no qualifications other than what I came out of school with. But as the bus was pulling in, I could see a tall building. It was a university. I said to myself, (after begging in a different town on student night wishing I was one of them) "I'll go to university some day". With that singular focus, I stayed on the with my goal. I ended up enrolling in a science course at the local college. Where I completed a two year diploma and eventually accepted into university.
The Reward
I wonder if you are reading this and thinking, 'did it all work out in the end'? Or perhaps your already assuming that it did. Life in fact goes on as it always does. Recently I lost my best friend to a drugs overdose, then my Grandfather. Additionally seeking mental health support was met with little regard, they in fact believed I did not warrant any mental health assessment at all. A difference of opinion if we should call it that.
So what has been attained?
Well, I certainly attained wellbeing and that's the most important element here. I am lucky to have a lovely set of friends, a partner whom I love and cherish so much. A potentially promising career in horsemanship. But the one treasure I could say I have is experience, a lot of them have been bad yes. We don't always draw long straws, I suppose someone eventually draws a short one. And at the hardest times of my life, when there was little to help me. We humans can come up with the most amazing solutions when the chips are down. And in some cases, being disadvantaged can in itself be an advantage. If one looks for opportunity, one will surely find it!
Thank-you for reading x
