Monday, January 30, 2012

Wealth

We turn the handle and delicious, crystal clear, germ free, life giving water comes out. We are pretty well off compared to some places in the world.
Looking at this got me thinking about something I read on Ian's site San Juan Update a month ago, written by Jim Carroll:

"This morning I stood in a steaming shower and had a recurring revelation. I remembered an evening when my son Ben, who had just returned from a long period of working with AIDS orphans in Lesotho, had first turned my perspective on its head. He walked to the kitchen sink, filled a glass of water from the tap, and drank it. As he set the glass down on the counter he said “pretty much everywhere I’ve been in the last couple of years that would have been the definition of wealth.”
Here I was, standing in a wasteful stream of water from which I could actually drink without becoming ill. I realized with a kind of horror that I am MUCH closer to being a member of the 1% than the 99%. I can turn that horror to gratitude, but the guilt doesn’t wash away so easily."

Click on the photo to see it full-size.

5 comments:

  1. That's an awesome picture! One of these day's I'm going to try and tackle some water. Did you use foam board behind to have the clean black background?
    That's a good little blurb you linked us too. I can't think of anything to say other than makes you realize how good we really have it.

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    1. Thanks Steph! Yeah that's a foam core panel, white on one side, black on the other.

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    1. The red is from a bright red bath towel I kinda stuffed up against the wall behind the faucet just out of view on the right.

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  3. Outstanding photo...and commentary - it makes for a stunning composition both visually and textually! :)

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