The depth of humanity does not lie within the brightest corners of their mind, but rather the darkest. I once heard a quote that stated something along the lines of how a person can eat dinner with someone every night for the course of their entire life, sharing conversations about every aspect of their lives, but if they truly wanted to know someone's core then they'd hang them over a volcano. I believe that there is quite a significant amount of truth to that.
So when you meet someone who has the ability to walk through life's trauma as easily as they could stroll through a park then you've clearly met someone who is quite amazing. That is, perhaps, the most empowering thing to watch someone do. You see, at the end of the day, the things that one person can accomplish in their lifetime is something that thousands, or even millions, could have also potentially done. Of course, because no two lives have been lived identically, those capable of such powerful lives may not ever get the chance to express them.
A person who currently resides in a Brazilian favela, as an example, could have potentially been the next Einstein had they been born in another country and to a far wealthier family. Instead, their intelligence is reserved to the day to day survival of, essentially, street life.
Another person who is born into a wealthy family and with all the opportunities in the world may resign themselves to only valuing themselves based on the car they drive, or the clothes they wear, or their social status amongst their peers while otherwise being a person without substance.
So, of course, it goes without saying that those who survive their struggles to come out the other side will learn things that others may never have the ability to learn. A poor person will know far better on how to survive off of basic meals while a rich person would scoff at the notion of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The protein in peanut butter goes a long way when you're a growing kid.
It extends well beyond that, of course. You give a poor person a ten dollar bill and it is far more likely that they will do everything in their power to make it up to you. You give a rich person a ten dollar bill and they'd likely set it on fire by buying something of little to no meaning. The amount a person can value something depends strictly on their understanding of what the value is.
So of course, when a poor person gives you the shirt off of their back then it is likely all they really have to give. A rich person, on the other hand, could just go to the closet and pick out a nicer one.
No doubt, of course, that there are plenty of rich people out there who have a deep appreciation for the poor. There are also a plethora of poor people who are only poor because of their bad choices in life. There is just a portion of me who really wishes that the world could understand that all people - rich, poor, and indifferent - could understand that we're all capable of good or bad equally and use that knowledge to learn to appreciate everyone.
-Dustin S. Stover
So when you meet someone who has the ability to walk through life's trauma as easily as they could stroll through a park then you've clearly met someone who is quite amazing. That is, perhaps, the most empowering thing to watch someone do. You see, at the end of the day, the things that one person can accomplish in their lifetime is something that thousands, or even millions, could have also potentially done. Of course, because no two lives have been lived identically, those capable of such powerful lives may not ever get the chance to express them.
A person who currently resides in a Brazilian favela, as an example, could have potentially been the next Einstein had they been born in another country and to a far wealthier family. Instead, their intelligence is reserved to the day to day survival of, essentially, street life.
Another person who is born into a wealthy family and with all the opportunities in the world may resign themselves to only valuing themselves based on the car they drive, or the clothes they wear, or their social status amongst their peers while otherwise being a person without substance.
So, of course, it goes without saying that those who survive their struggles to come out the other side will learn things that others may never have the ability to learn. A poor person will know far better on how to survive off of basic meals while a rich person would scoff at the notion of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The protein in peanut butter goes a long way when you're a growing kid.
It extends well beyond that, of course. You give a poor person a ten dollar bill and it is far more likely that they will do everything in their power to make it up to you. You give a rich person a ten dollar bill and they'd likely set it on fire by buying something of little to no meaning. The amount a person can value something depends strictly on their understanding of what the value is.
So of course, when a poor person gives you the shirt off of their back then it is likely all they really have to give. A rich person, on the other hand, could just go to the closet and pick out a nicer one.
No doubt, of course, that there are plenty of rich people out there who have a deep appreciation for the poor. There are also a plethora of poor people who are only poor because of their bad choices in life. There is just a portion of me who really wishes that the world could understand that all people - rich, poor, and indifferent - could understand that we're all capable of good or bad equally and use that knowledge to learn to appreciate everyone.
-Dustin S. Stover
