Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Hard Times Are Not Forever

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Hard Times Are Not Forever

Scenes of poverty, in whichever shape it maybe, always leave a permanent and rather moving imprint on a person’s mind. It is the reason why, in all the philosophies and thoughts, it has been pointed out as one of the biggest problems of the world.

It can hardly be called a house as it doesn’t have the necessary objects to qualify it as a house. Its darkness, its emptiness and its narrowness make one feel really awful. Its inhabitants never feel the joy associated with a house, rather they feel an anxiety and anguish when living in such a limited or rather suffocating place. There is no concept of separate rooms, or kitchen or place of recreation or others, rather there is always present a quarrel on where to sleep or where to sit and eat. Every weather is harsh for the dwellers of such a house as the heat of summer enters the house easily while the cold winds and snow and rain water has no obstacle in landing directly on the heads of the inhabitants.

Most humiliating condition comes when there is a guest or a visitor as they have nothing to show with pride and everything to conceal in order to sustain their honor.

Children are the most pitiful of the exhibitions of poverty when they become the most effected victim of it. Their eyes always appear to be hungry as they never get enough to eat. The carelessness and the briskness associated with a child are snatched away from them and they always appear to be serious and rather sad. Every well-off child hurts their feelings by showing off their clothes, eating delicious things or simply not treating them properly. Their poverty is their major crime as they always appear to be ashamed of themselves and never gain the confidence that an independent child should have.

Poverty is not something new. It was present right from the beginning of the human race and instead of having mass production; poverty is still present in the modern time mostly due to the unlimited greed and expenditure of our human fellows. Money spent in a major city in Europe can be enough to meet the requirements of a complete African country.

Till recently, millions of people died due to famines. Thanks to the modern and advanced means of food production and improved means of transporting these food items that famines have greatly been controlled in the modern time.

Poverty is different according to the different understandings. At some places, one may not be having enough to eat and can be entitled as a poor while at other places, one who is not having all the basic facilities of life like food, shelter, clothing, medical safeguard and others is called poor.

Poverty is not something unique to a person, especially in third world countries where governments fail to provide all the basic necessities to their citizens. In a family, one generation might have seen very good days, the following might have gone through some hard days while the third generation may have faced the worst days. Similarly, wealth and prosperity also keeps circulating.

Poverty may motivate a person both positively and negatively. A poor person might get motivated to work day and night so as to bring an end to his drastic conditions and thus utilize his hidden abilities. Contrary to this, many may think of negative approaches to bring an end to their poverty and step into the valley of crimes. As majority of the people are not gifted to think of noble goals, majority of the poor either compromise with their meager conditions or resort to negative approaches. It is the reason why, poverty has been identified as a major reason of crimes in every corner of the world.

Some people lose their spirits when get poor and all the time appear to be sad and gloomy. But it is a strange fact that however sad and gloomy you appear, your poverty is not lessened by this. You only demoralize yourself and the people around you.

There were three brothers who were very jolly and active when their conditions were good. The signs of prosperity could have been witnessed on their shining faces, healthy body, and more importantly their jolly and careless moods and attitudes. Years passed by, their business went down and they had to work as shop assistants. I saw one of the brothers who was working in a shoes shop, bringing the shoes and dealing the customers. I was delighted to see that dust of time and lack of money had made no effect on him and he still had the same pleasing personality. This is the behavior that makes the rich feel inferior instead of having a pile of money because they think that only bulk of money can make you happy and when they see others happy without it, their idealism is greatly distorted.

When you smile, you forget the worst conditions around you and you make yourself and people around you feel good. If you have this ability, you have the best treasure of the world that can buy any happiness of the world.

It is said that poverty and prosperity both leave their imprints on the personality and conduct of a person for the years to follow.

There is a saying that if a person was rich for forty years and he gets poor, he will behave like a rich for the forty years to follow. Similarly, if a person was poor for forty years and he becomes rich, he will behave like a poor person for forty years to follow.

Poverty is a very cruel companion as well. There are many people who saw such bad days in poverty that they feel afraid of them even after the poverty is over. It is the reason why some people get much greedy or keep piling the things so as to avoid any such poor conditions. This greed or precautionary habit becomes a permanent part of their personality. This can be termed as the worst outcome of being poor.

Some people get such angry of the world in their bad days that they never come to forgive others for the rest of their lives. That’s why when they get any authority, they don’t give away any chance to harm the people or create problems to them. Beware that bad days should not deprive you of your natural good abilities.

There is a famous verse in Urdu poetry that, “Neither the dark nor the bright days are permanent, they would interchangeably change their places”

(Muhammad Rasool Shah works as Academic Coordinator at Barakat Int’l School, Kabul. He can be reached at muhammadrasoolshah@gmail.com)

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