Should we change our focus?

2020hindsight said:

- obviously I'm searching for a "half full" or even "quarter full" way to look at poverty here - in the final (semi final?) analysis you'll probably hear more laughter from kids there than in houses like that mother of twins you mentioned -

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2020, do you think those children you describe in Manila are probably quite unaware of their poverty? Sometimes I think our continuing aspirations to have more "stuff" derives from a sense of competition with our fellow human beings, the whole "Affluenza" thing. A kind of frenzied need to have more than the bloke next door.
I have a friend whose father was an alcoholic and who didn't work. He drank away most of what her mother could bring into the household. They lived in the country on a small farm and the children shared clothes and went without shoes often. She pursued an education and a good career and has been married for many years to a high earning husband. They would be considered wealthy. She values her present existence, but says she was quite happy as a kid, completely unaware there was anything wrong with the way they lived, except for her father's drinking.

I think what I'm trying to get to here (badly) is that much of our unhappiness comes from our attitude to life and our lack of capacity to value what we do have. Perhaps the current epidemic of depression could be at least somewhat ameliorated with the sort of change of focus I'm talking about.
The new government hopefully will attempt to do this, rather than talk up all the fear and terror.

Julia said:

much of our unhappiness comes from our attitude to life and our lack of capacity to value what we do have. Perhaps the current epidemic of depression could be at least somewhat ameliorated with the sort of change of focus I'm talking about.

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spot on Julia
sorta like ... see if you can guess how many of these kids -
have a podcast
have a nintendo
have a pair of shoes
have a decent set of walls and roof over their head
have had a meal in the last day
don't have a close relative with HIV etc

PS the ones on the left have a skipping rope at least

Sadly I don't think these photos will cheer many up - still as you say - might change "the focus"

People often talk about change and then do nothing about it, but the change has to start with yourself. 3 years ago after going through a rough time and reading a self help type book, I put a list together of short (1yr), medium (5yr) and long term (10yr+) goals. That list still sits beside my bed and gets looked at regularly. I've ticked off all the ones on the short and half the ones on the medium. The important part of the list is it can include ANYTHING and some of those goals should at the time seem unachievable. My list included financial, health and "spritual" type goals (not religion) eg: buy an investment property, lose weight, change my attitude towards certain things. Whenever I have a bad day I look at this list and remind myself of the good things I have achieved. And let me tell you the spiritual or attitude type goals are by far the hardest to achieve.

I suppose my point is if you want to change make some sort of commitment that you can be reminded of until you achieve that change.

some photos from Sara Heinrich's website (including photo of herself) - capturing what it means to live in Burma

..........
Must go to Burma "some day before I'm old"
http://flickr.com/photos/awfulsara/sets/96872/show/with/5255659/

2BAD4U said:

Whenever I have a bad day I look at this list and remind myself of the good things I have achieved.

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Yes, this is the kind of thing I was thinking about. It sounds like a silly comparison, but we train dogs not by getting cross with them when they do something dumb, but by heaping praise on them when they get it right.
As humans, we rarely seem to apply this sort of positive reinforcement principle to our own behaviour.

Here's another question: If you have an instance of poor service, rudeness, etc from an organisation, do you make a complaint?

If you have an instance of great service, someone going out of their way to be helpful, do you phone or write to record your appreciation?

Just curious as to whether we keep some sort of balance here.

2020, pretty damn humbling those kids with their skipping ropes and hide and seek.

Julia said:

If you have an instance of great service, someone going out of their way to be helpful, do you phone or write to record your appreciation?

pretty damn humbling those kids with their skipping ropes and hide and seek.

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I recently had a car detailed. Because I wanted to pick it up late I had the operator of the business leave it outside after hours so I could get it.I had paid in advance. I was really pleased with the job done and rang the fellow the next day to thank him. He thought I was ringing with a problem and said no one had ever rung to say they were happy in all his years in business. Said he had a few calls with problems though.

With regard to the skipping ropes etc. A lot of these are scams. Best to check them out first.