Fear and Enlightenment: A Monologue on Poverty

Fear they say is the key to everything. You know how to overcome your fear and you can win at whatever you do. So what is fear? Is it just some chemicals secreted by your brain? Everyone has some fear or the other, even our superheroes.

Poverty is the bane of this world. People are denied basic amenities because they happen to be poor. Is it their mistake that they are born poor? I see people on the street scrapping food of garbage in the cans. But what hurts me the most is to see young children loosing their childhood to poverty. No child should ever lose their childhood. But then that has been happening forever, hasn't it?

I never realized fear and poverty could be related until I was enlightened suddenly watching a street urchin having her meager breakfast of tea and bread. Watching her innocently munching her daily bread made me ask myself what the reason for her poverty could be? As I looked around I could see at least 10 pairs of eyes watching the same scene as me but with the same apathy. And suddenly I had the answer. It wasn't apathy that was the culprit. It was fear. It was fear that was holding the owners of the 10 pairs of eyes to hold back doing something for the poor soul.

Why are we all afraid to do something against the set norms? That I guess because we are always conscious about what people will say about our actions. What if someone makes fun of me? What will people say if I go ahead and help the girl? What if the girl decides to ride on my back forever? I almost could read these very questions in the eyes of the onlookers. But then I had the very same questions in my head. But it was at that moment that I decided to get the fear out and do something. I was sick of being helpless. And at that very moment the train arrived and I was back in the rat race. But the question was like etched in the back of my mind. On antagonizing on the problem for the whole journey I was happy at least something in me had awakened.

As in all other cases it's just fear that has to be overcome. The innocent eyes of a poor girl had got me out of this rat race where nothing else would have succeeded. It makes me wonder now if we all were to spare something from our life be it time, money or self we would have no poverty left in this world. And its not called being selfish. Its called not being afraid. I am a man with a mission now. Like Neo in the Matrix. Someone who has been awakened, rather jolted awake.