A Day in the Life...the Good Life

image from imprewards.com

I just finished Angeala's Ashes by Frank McCort. It was a profound read for me. I didn't realize how much I have and how much I take for granted, until I realized that I could make do with a lot less.

It's astounding how sheltered my generation and I have been from the pains of hunger, the absence of education in the home, the danger of injury going untreated. We have everything we need: we have food, shelter, and love.

Yeah, yeah, yeah: everyone had that, right?

We're beyond the days of going without basic necessities?

Maybe not. The article below implies otherwise.

We also have the things we've taken for granted as needs: opportunity, education, motivation, expectation, and endless second chances. What a wonderful world. All we have to do is imagine it and put a little elbow grease into it, and it...whatever it is...could be ours. Remarkable.

Perfect timing for Dr. Zizzo to send this article to Laura and for her to pass it onto me. From thespec.com, this article (click here to read it) talks about the discrepancies between the privileged and the poor in my hometown, Hamilton.

It was eye-opening to learn that life expectancy on the West Mountain is 86, while the same stat in the North End is a whopping 66. I'm shocked. One line has been on the forefront of nearly every socio-economic policy or health policy paper, report, or class I've ever heard about, read, seen or taken: "The wealthier you are, the healthier you are." Maybe my preoccupation with money isn't so much about the things I can have as much as it is about the better life I can lead. There's a thought. Here are some other snipits I found worth mentioning...

Those neighbourhoods with high rates of emergency room visits, no family physician, respiratory-related problems and psyciatric emergencies are the same neighbourhoods, in general, that have the lowest median incomes, lowest dwelling values, highest rates of people living below the poverty line and highest dropout rates from school.

Terry Cooke, president and CEO of the Hamilton Community Foundation says,

"When you have these disparities in emergency room visits or life expectancies, you're looking at dramatic and destructive impacts of concentrated poverty."

This journey of mine to the opposite side of the earth has been about so much, but I believe enlightenment has been my greatest gift here so far. Day in and day out, the universe reveals things to me that are remarkably profound. I only hope I keep them with me as I take the next steps. Something tells me I will :)