Analysis of Poverty

Poverty is lacking in basic needs whereby, one is deprived of material possession, money, and or economic, social, and political essentials. It occurs when one is unable to meet the minimum level of human livelihoods such as a decent shelter, food, and clothing. Many times, poverty is associated with lack of only basic needs; however, it goes beyond the inability to meet essential life needs such as clothing and food. The state of being poor represents a bleak and hopeless condition, in which all that is present is nothingness, bare minimum, and desperation. Poverty goes beyond the common scenario of lacking; it is purely a state of mental anguish and turmoil. It is a physical and psychological state of the scarcity of not only material or economic needs, but also the pressure to keep and live a decent lifestyle.

Beneath the condition of lacking basic needs, poverty is a psychological state of distress, in which the mind is forever uneasy, unsettled, and full of many unanswered questions. The inability to come to terms with the reality of an uncertain future, a bleak tomorrow and the constant desperation of a better future portrays poverty as a mental illness and a chronic state of the scarcity of the mind. Poverty is a trigger to the depressive and anxious state of mind, a scenario that sets a depressive lifestyle, always yearning for and dreaming of a far distant better tomorrow. It is not only a particular condition of resource scarcity but also a cognitive strain that narrows ones perspective on the reality of life and confining one's wishes and dreams to the barest essentials of keeping alive. It is a toxic substance that sets in motion lower levels of productivity and increases a higher state of mental dysfunction.

Lack of means of productivity and the inability to meet the needed life essentials defines poverty regarding the failure to acquire the resources to meet the daily requirements of an individual. However, the actual picture and the state of poverty entails always reaching out for help, calling out for assistance, and exposing oneself to the public ridicule, scorn, and a scar in the public domain. A reject and shameful figure not worth a dime defines a poverty stricken individual much to the disdain of the public. Though the public may offer sympathetic ears and gestures often, they express their inherent contempt to a person lacking in basic needs. A situation that further emphasizes the misery behind requiring the essential needs of living while at the same time exposes poverty as the way to living an unhealthy lifestyle in addition to lacking in proper health care, socioeconomic conditions, and decent way of life. The threshold for determining the extent of lacking and meeting the essentials of life lies in the level of desperation and inability to sustaining a proper living condition.

Poverty is the constant reminder of a bleak future, unfulfilled dreams, and failure. It is the visible sign of the inability to make an accomplishment and achievement of goals. It is associated with unfulfilled dreams, blown away plans, unrealistic expectations, and the failure to make it in life. While admiring others achievements, one's poverty status is a constant reminder of the miserable lifestyle one is surviving on. Additionally, it is a constant reminder that one has not made an achievement from all fronts and to make it, one has to put extra effort to break away from the yokes of scarcity.