JOY

I had a couple of hours last evening to continue my reading of Dr. Wes Stafford's book, Too Small To Ignore.  I stopped when I read the following:

The poor comprehend that joy is not dictated by the circumstances of life.  Joy is a decision, a very brave one, about how you are going to respond to life.  We in the West tend to be joyful when things go our way and good things are happening in our lives.  For the poor [who make up nearly two out of every three people on earth], such good fortune and good things almost never come.  Yet laughter and smiles abound.  (p.165)

I have lived my entire life (sixty years this week) with the supposition that I have been blessed to have been born and raised in the United States of America.  However, in the last year or so, I've begun to think the opposite.  If life is so good in America, why so much depression, divorce, and addiction?  Why do we consume the majority of prescription drugs issued throughout the world?  ("Americans consumed three-quarters of the ten top-selling prescription drugs in the world." [Health Tracking Trends: "Retail Prescription Drug Spending in the National Health Accounts" by Cynthia Smith])

The assumed joy of materialism and consumerism seems to be eluding us.  How many people do you know who are truly joyful?

"In 1950, the average American single-family home was 983 square feet.  By 1970, that figure had grown to 1,500 square feet.  By 2004, it had ballooned to 2,329 square feet." (p.92)  And, of course, we're so much happier now - as a result!  The home Debbie and I live in would probably house five families in Asia.

Is Stafford right?  Are the poor more content?  Are they happier?  He speaks of playing soccor in the little African village of his childhood.  No field, no shoes, no rules, no teams.  Just an inflated chicken intestine being kicked around the village by kids (and adults occasionally)!  When he was exposed to soccor at a boarding school, he was disappointed with the formalities of rules, limits, skills, penalties, teams, and the concept of winning!  In his village, soccor was played simply for fun!

I'm thinking that there might be some real value in being exposed to the extreme poverty in this world.  I'm thinking that there might be some real value in being exposed to the true joy in this world.  I'm thinking that we've been sold a lie - and most of us have bought into it unquestioningly...

What do you think?