The Benefits of Poverty

In a soulless world, in which money, status, and material goods reign, poverty is looked down upon. Not only do people pity the poor but also see them as those left behind. They see them as those who did not make it in life. They are the losers of society in this regard. In our soulless world, poverty must be avoided at all costs. You’ve probably been educated in the same spirit, too.   Only those with much wealth are considered successful by the masses. Paradoxically or not, it is those with financial success who commit suicide more often. It is the prosperous societies that have the most people on antidepressants.   Given this grim link between richness and suicide, we may ask questions about what truly matters in life—what truly makes a person successful. Moreover, we may even ask if poverty isn’t all that bad. Surprisingly or not, it may even come with some benefits.  According to current data, people in developing countries aren’t thinking that much about putting an end to their lives. They may even be happier than you may imagine. They may be happier than the average person from a society too tamed by greed, lust, and financial gain.   Maybe, a prosperous life isn’t a solution to a happy and fulfilling life. Maybe poverty can teach us more about the good life than we want to admit.  Poverty, a Worthy Teacher in Life   What people who don’t have much get better at is lowering their expectations. Sure, some of them do not benefit from lowering them too much; still, there is something that we can learn about expectations.   What exactly?   Set your expectations too high, and you will fall. You may fall from such a high distance that recovering will take time. High expectations will take you into a life of misery (mentally and spiritually) from which it will be hard to come back.   Expectations matter. They settle where we want to be in life. Still, maybe one reason why rich and successful people suffer from depression more is because of these expectations. They set them too high, and now they are struggling to keep that standard of living. On the surface, they are doing the right thing. However, deep down, they are shattering their souls.   This impacts mental health. Setting high expectations can turn a person into a machine, making him or her robotic. Why? Because the person will try and keep up with appearances. In this regard, the impoverished person doesn’t have such pressure. In a way, this person is freer than the rich one, although the impoverished person has fewer material goods and, maybe, fewer opportunities.   The Trap  Of course, you’ve probably read that in impoverished communities, drug abuse, alcoholism, and domestic violence are more present than in the rich and middle-class communities.   Yes, that is correct. Many point out this fact; still, this doesn’t paint the full picture. Is it poverty or ignorance that makes those people abuse drugs, drink too much, or attack their relatives?  The vicious, impoverished person dreams that better days will come, financially and materially. However, this person comes with the same mindset of having high expectations. The reason why such a person is so fallen is because the person has fallen too deep to get back on their own feet quickly. Such a thing would not happen with a poor person who doesn’t envy those with material possessions. For such a person, life itself is precious, and their mental health is thus protected.   Material prosperity can be a blessing, but only in the hands of the wise. And, in this sense, poverty can be a great teacher that can instill that wisdom into any man or woman. With what purpose will one accumulate wealth if that very person becomes a soulless monster?