Retreat Reflection from K. Kugler, Defiance College

Thoughts on Poverty. Some people earn a $30,000 a year income and have set themselves up with a healthy financial arrangement. Others make hundreds of thousands, they still aren’t satisfied, and, worse, they are the ones making the decisions that keep some financially rich and some financially poor. If you earn piddle but love life, open your arms to others, have integrity, and are generous, many would say you’re financially struggling but are rich in happiness, despite your financial level. If you make $400,000/year, but still aren’t satisfied and hoard your money, keeping others from getting any, many would say you are financially set, but could use a real paradigm shift. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how much you earn; it’s what you do with what you earn. Other times, such as is the case in Appalachian Ohio, people just plain need money; most would make good choices with it—they just need some desperately. So what is “poverty?” There are governmental guidelines which focus on how much money a household brings in and how many members are in the household. If you make a couple hundred or thousand dollars over the limit for your household, you aren’t eligible for benefits, when aid might have helped you stay above the poverty line for longer. Sometimes, the system won’t help people until they’ve fallen down, so-to-speak. Is poverty a state of mind? If you save on electricity by turning the lights out in rooms you aren’t using, don’t use the clothes dryer from March to October, and wear your good clothes and shoes until they aren’t your best anymore and wear them ten more years around the house because they have plenty of life left in them, are you considered poor, or are you thrifty and economical? If you update your entire wardrobe every year, drive your gas-guzzler to town and back just for one chore even when gas prices are skyrocketing, and purchase pricey brands at the supermarket instead of store brands, are you considered middle class, non-poverty level, or do you just have no control of your money-spending habits?