Poverty is not a Cycle...

IT IS A CHALLENGE!

Let's talk about poverty for a second here...Many people you would not expect are living well below the poverty level...I did for a good chunk of my life...yup that's right...but this post isn't about me (you could read about me in a different post)...its about the way the world views poverty...

Now I know that the cycle of poverty is a real thing...very real indeed...but it doesn't have to be...

We talk about the cycle, we are taught about the cycle, and we hear about the cycle again and again and again...A poor family receives aid from the government; they begin to rely on it too heavily...and then they have kids who learn to do the same...

Well OK I get that...their families teach them it is ok to live off of the government's aid and be poor for the rest of their lives...So now the cycle is taking over...but...but ... but IT DOESN'T HAVE TO

First things first...there are families, who although considered poor by every label any research has ever dished out manage to live life normally...Now your normally and my normally are potentially different...So maybe the heat doesn't get turned on until the temperature outside is very cold...maybe name brand is something unheard of...maybe hand-me-downs and bags of clothes from random people are thought of as the best thing in the world...but hey those aren't the worst things in the world

These families carry themselves normally and do not mope about their financial situation. They are proactive and find as many solutions as they can to their problems rather than complaining, moping and burdening their children with their financial problems. Heck in some of these families, the kids don't even realize they are poor...these families care; they stress the importance of education and hard work.  A little hard work can go a long way. These families are what we call resilient.

What about families that aren't resilient you ask? Those who don't know how to stress the importance of getting out of poverty before it can become a cycle? Those families who need someone to tell them that they can break the cycle?

There it is...THEY NEED SOMEONE TO TELL THEM THAT THEY CAN BREAK THE CYCLE

Why is the cycle so prevalent in today's society? Well sure because there is quite the build up of generation after generation after generation of poverty in some of these families...the kids don't know any better...someone needs to tell them they can get out...

someone needs to BELIEVE in them

The cycle can indeed be broken...is it hard to do? Oh yes it is a challenge for sure! ...but it can be done.

Someone needs to show these kids that it is worth it to work towards a better life. They are stuck in the illusion that they don't need to work because the government gives them enough to live off of...I mean who wouldn't love to live for free...but is that really all there is to life? A limited budget, government housing, maybe a part time job to get extra groceries? There can be so much more with a little work...sure the beginning will be difficult...and hard...but in the long run they will be earning their own money and living in their own apartments or houses and buying their own food, and who knows maybe able to help other people.

Kids need someone in their life to show them that work can be a good thing. That there are jobs people actually like doing. They just need to explore their interests...what? People would actually pay me to do something I like? Yes, yes they will.

Can you be that person? Can you go out into the world, and in some small way inspire someone? Can you show them that there is more? That reading and learning are useful? That working is rewarding? Can you?