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| “People who died of starvation are not nearly as pitiful as those who died of overeating.” ― |
There is a reason it's called simple living, not easy living. That is because living simply is often not easy.
It may be hard, but it is also beautiful. Still, one may need motivation to continue on the path.
I don't need much more motivation than pondering the state of the planet.
The most motivating for me concerns something we strangely don't hear much about - starvation.
I wonder why that is, considering our current focus on "saving lives."
Starvation Facts
- almost 800 million people lack adequate access to food resources- every year about 10 million people die of starvation. 3 million are children.
- after declining 5% from 2004 to 2019, the number of undernourished has increased by more than 165 million since then, a crisis driven by the Four C's of the Apocalypse: Conflict, Consumerism, Climate, and COVID.
- the world has always had enough food to feed everyone, and still does.
World leaders agreed waaaaaay back in 2000 to commit to eight Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
The first of those goals was "to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger."
Epic fail, if you ask me.
But no one is asking, because we don't talk about these deaths, or our failure to stop them. They get little attention from the people that can do the most to help.
Since the system managers won't do something about this sad state of affairs (and they won't if it's not profitable to do so), I am motivated to do something myself.
Living as simply as possible is an action I can take to create more balance in this wildly wobbling world.
Whenever my simple life gets hard and I need some motivation to carry on, I think about all those hungry people dying by the millions year after year because decision-makers fail to act.
We don't just need a solution for hunger, but more desperately need a solution for curing our sick system, and the sickos running it.
Living simply helps, but unless we get together to kick this rotten door down, we will be doomed to some day join our undernourished and dying brothers and sisters.
Note: Another big motivator for me and Linda are the readers of our blog. We are motivated and inspired by you. Thank you.
This post is spot on. No one talks about the amount of undernourished people just like health care does not address the importance of proper nutrition. Doctors are trained to treat problems not prevent them. Good nutrition is one of the top ways to prevent disease and illness.
ReplyDeleteThere is no substitute for a healthy diet.
Delete"The leading causes of death and disability have changed from communi- cable diseases in children to non-communicable diseases in adults. Eating too much has overtaken undernutrition as a leading risk factor for illness."
The Global Burden of Disease
http://www.healthdata.org/sites/default/files/files/policy_report/2013/GBD_GeneratingEvidence/IHME_GBD_GeneratingEvidence_FullReport.pdf
Food insecurity is real and it does concern me. All I can do is try and help in my small way in my small community. Governments fail all the time, but good people do not fail, they conquer. SO here's to conquering where we can.
ReplyDeleteLiving simply allows me to give to the food bank in my area. Together, we are sending out ripples of kindness. Keep trying, my friends.
ReplyDeleteThese numbers are astonishing, and isn't it just a reminder of how MSM draws our attention to what they want us to see. Since the start of the pandemic I've been reminding people of the 9.5 million cancer deaths per year, the millions more from pollution and smoking. Most of this is preventable. Compare those numbers with 2.3 million from covid in the first 12 months. We should be drawing attention to these numbers in our own communities.
ReplyDeleteAnnie and Out My Window, your comments are heartening and remind us we can all respond positively in some way.
Madeleine