Less… is still enough

On the trash of the wealthy the poor try to survive – People who earn their living by collecting and sorting garbage and selling them for recycling, Payatas, Manila, Philippines.

Less… is still enough!

The facts.
The collective wealth of all the Belgian people is more than 2.000 billion euro (De Tijd). The 10 richest families together own almost half of all that wealth (Knack). Yearly in Europe – and you read it correctly – we throw away 590.000.000 ( five hundred and ninety million) tons of food. 20 % of all young people between 13 and 20 years of age  regularly think about suicide (Enquiry National Youth Service).

Are you still following?
Is each one of us not a prisoner of conventions, caught in material things and that what is on the surface? Are the energy we invest in production and the effort we make in order to consume, not out of proportion?

In the middle of progressive thinking the question arises about what proof we need to realise that some thing or other is getting out of hand? To put it in a different way: what else has to happen to us before we come to an insight ? Usually it is difficult to admit that to have ‘more’ and ‘property’ are addictive. With (a little) less it would become quite difficult for some. For the poor without doubt, because they always live with ‘less’.

Professions without borders
This is a televsion programme in which professional people from here go and cooperate with colleagues in far away countries. At the end of their trip, filled with experiences, each one of them nearly always has the same reaction:

“Do we really realise what a good life we have in Belgium”?

Confronted with shortage and poverty, ‘people that have a lot’ get to know the inner side of ‘people with less’. The encounter is very emotional and touching. It is ‘enrichment’ that they receive from these ‘poor’ people. Who helps who?

Someone said it as follows:

“Since I live with less, I do not feel the shortage, but rather have the experience of ‘more'”.

Or less is more … or at least enough!

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Translation from the Dutch / Nederlands origineel: Met minder is… nog genoeg

 

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Additional reading:

1. Capitalism
2. Capitalism and economic policy and Christian survey
3. Materialism, would be life, and aspirations
4. Luxury
5. Capitalism downfall
6. Increasing wealth gap of immense proportions in the Capitalist World
7. Self inflicted misery #1 The root by man
8. European Year for combating poverty spurred mobilisation and commitment
9. Yad Vashem: Remembering the Past, Shaping the Future
10. Catherine Ashton on the EU annual report on human rights
11. Looking to the East and the West for Truth
12. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #1 Up to 21st century
13. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #2 First two decennia of 21st century
14. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #3 Right to Human dignity
15. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #4 The Family pact
16. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #5 Housing
17. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #6 Transport factor of immobilising financial growth
18. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #7 Education
19. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #8 Work
20. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #9 Consumption
21. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #10 Health
22. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #11 Participation
23. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #12 Conclusion
24. Poverty and measurement
25. Poverty placed in history
26. 1985-2012 Poverty in Europe
27. 2014 Economics
28. Poverty and conservative role patterns
29. Ability for a community to come back from a crisis
30. Bleak forecasts for children in the UK
31. Violence against disabled children
32. Anti-Crisis anger calling out
33. A risk taking society
34. Securing risks
35. Green Claims in Europe
36. A Snippet of Advice on Cultural Analysis
37. The natural beauties of life
38. Problems by losing the borders
39. Migrants to the West #3
40. US poverty worse than previous recessions
41. Nearly 50 million poor North Americans
42. Expanding opportunities for more American families
43. Subcutaneous power for humanity 5 Loneliness, Virtual and real friends
44. Depression Is and When
45. High time to review the right to keep and bear arms
46. Your struggles develop your strengths
47. If we, in our prosperity, neglect religious instruction and authority
48. From Winterdarkness into light of Spring
49. Reflect on how much idolizing happens
50. Message of Pope Francis I for the 48th World Communications Day
51. Pope Francis says Catholics must become evangelisers
52. Full text of Pope Francis’ Interview with ‘La Vanguardia’
53. When we love we do not need laws
54. Catholicism, Anabaptism and Crisis of Christianity
55. Being Religious and Spiritual 1 Immateriality and Spiritual experience
56. Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious
57. All I want is peace!!!

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