Joy Less

Clinton apparently does not congratulate Obama on his great wins in the Potomac region. Certainly this is a lead in to this short essay.

Periodically we reflect on impoverishment and how it is epidemic in our society and our behaviors.

We think about it when we don't even want to. We might think we are lacking in material wealth, and from a certain point of view that would be the point of living in a materialistic society - how else to create an atmosphere in which the acquisition of stuff is paramount. Creating artificial material longing is the point of advertising. We all know this.

Radically altered behaviors on all levels occur with impoverishment. Banks have lost large masses of dollars due to the sub prime interest debacle, they will try all types of strategies to gather in your dollars. They are impoverished and need wealth fast and dirty. Watch interest rates get jacked on credit cards and many other little quick tricks.

Jealousy is a type of impoverishment. What else can it be. You want somebody else's stuff, because you are impoverished. Greed is the same thing.

I think whenever emotions go into the negative, there is a type of impoverishment present.

Excessive anger and violence are impoverishment. I know this first hand now. Having been assaulted by a gang a few months ago, I now can smell and literally feel the incredible impoverished mentality of my assailants.

If most of our behavior is a projection of our mental state then violence is an expression of the depth of our impoverishment. Specifically it is living without a sense of value or joy concerning one's own being.

If you value your own being, I am willing to bet you value someone else's. Screw conservative compassion, this is the real thing.

This is one of my ongoing contemplations. Everybody has that kind of thing, ongoing contemplations. It helps me to understand life in America. Its a challenge.

What is even more important is trying to change this societal ingraining of our psyche. That would be moving out of impoverishment into a prosperous frame of mind. One aspect of that might be to live without a single doubt that life itself is most important and always affords us good opportunities.