Poverty

A great teacher Poverty is,

I thank God I grew up in abject poverty.

It taught me to be content with simplicity

to not be attached to the material substances, that matter not really.

To rise above the judgments that come with poverty, from others who seem to have so much more.

I looked deeply within to see what do I have to contribute.

I have a heart, compassion, understanding

For myself and others who struggle

Day to day, to survive as best as they are able.

To have fun with the simplest of things, a silly and free experience with just my family and I.

To focus on the wellbeing of myself and my family.

To rejoice in the simple of rewards of making it through the struggles.

To believe in myself and others who may appear not to have it all together. The work on the interior can look that way when one is not focused on the external.

Working on the heart.
Working on letting go of the pain of the struggle, working on moving past the insurmountable.

These are the teachers of Poverty,

Blessings they come to be.

The best rewards of all.

Survival in Love.

Lori  Ellis-McKinney (2014)