Monday, October 14, 2013
Voluntary Poverty
In reflection to Peter Maurin's quote on voluntary poverty, I believe that, yes, voluntary poverty is maybe ONE answer to the evil forces in the world today, but not THE answer. Not enough people would choose to put themselves in poverty, so this force field battling poverty is not the whole solution, but the part of a solution. In my opinion, I had a fairly surface-level understanding of voluntary poverty before our visit to the Catholic Worker Farm. I thought that maybe it meant, yes, one chooses to live in poverty, yet I did not understand how exactly one would do so. The visit gave me a greater understanding of voluntary poverty-the people living and working at the farm could have lived a life where they gathered and accumulated wealth over time, yet no-they chose to live closer to poverty. This is what voluntary poverty seems to be to me. Honestly, I believe majority of my understanding of voluntary poverty has come from this class, and the visit to the farm. I also believe this is a life that not all are called, just as the woman at the farm told us. As the couple at the farm seemed to project, it seems to be more of a calling to live that way. Not everyone has the vocation, patience, or desire to live that way. I also believe this extends to Christians-we all have our own way in which we can help; living in voluntary poverty is not for everyone. We all have our ways we can help serve our community and the world.
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Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteI was going through some of the blogs on voluntary poverty and I’m glad I came across yours because I also agree that voluntary poverty is the not the ultimate solution to the evil forces in the world today. Like you said, it not only takes people with patience and desire to live a poor life but it also, in my opinion, depends on the people’s definition of poverty. I consider myself a poor college student but someone else might think that I’m pretty rich. It’s very hard to compare the Catholic worker farmer to a poor person from, let’s say, a third world country. In the latter’s eyes, the Catholic worker is rich. The worker might be self-sufficient but not poor. If one believes that they are living in poverty they are not likely to voluntarily give anything away because they believe that they will lack things they need. I also like that you acknowledged that there are different ways to help the poor in our community by maybe volunteering.
Good post!
Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteI really like this post because it provides me with a new perspective for this topic. One thing I was wondering about is your stand and opinion toward this lifestyle and the decision of "voluntary poverty". You believe this is not THE answer, but maybe ONE answer. I also understand that not many people have the patience and desire to pursue this lifestyle. Nonetheless, what do you think is the pros and cons of this solution? Would you make an attempt to live like that just for a week or a month? Or would you even consider this option at all?
Thanks!