On the cusp of a crumbling economy, on the cusp of an election in which people wonder whether it will matter who wins, on the cusp of this mid-October daywith its first crisp leaf fall, I've fallen prey to, succumbed to, writing this blog. What motivated me? Coming across Blog Action Day, wanting to be part of this great mission, to write about, think about, focus on poverty. A state many of us have not truly lived in. A state with its own distinct borders, easy to get into, difficult to leave. The state of poverty is a vast territory, terrifying to most, well-known to some. It has its own rules for survival, of course. Ask anyone who's ever traveled there.

For a few years I traveled alongside those in poverty, as an advocate, as a helper, trying to "bridge the gap" between those who would offer themselves as resources and those who desperately needed the resources. You'd think that would be easy -but in our complex rule-bound society it's anything but. Especially if you're new to poverty. Think of it. Do you know where the nearest food pantry is? Do you have the assertiveness, the fortitude, the persistence, to find out? Once you find out, do you have the means to get there? If it's more than a few miles away you can't walk - if there's no bus service you have to have a car or borrow a friend's car and have the money to pay for gas - just figuring out the simplest transportation to get help becomes mountainous. The mountains defeated me.

I left without having done much of anything, even though I helped establish yet another "helping" nonprofit group with a budget of over a million dollars. Very little of it found its way into the pockets of the poor, of course. That was considered a no-no. And so we played the game. We made sure their rent was paid, their utilities turned back on, they had food. Occasionally we got them lined up for a job (which usually meant a trip to a thrift store for suitable clothing, arranging day care, getting a bus pass, etc.)

Call it early case management. Except for one thing: people are people, not cases. Each person was as unique as those fall leaves out my window. And their needs were also unique. No short cuts. My mission remains unaccomplished. Not only the mission of eliminating or just plain alleviating one corner of poverty, but so many others - the mission of allowing compassion to create new ways to connect with each other, as cream rises to the top. Allow, receive, surrender. Those words remain elusive in their vast meanings, in what they require. Yet, for the moment, they suffice as a worthy mission.

Big picture aside, more daily missions include paying attention to each person I meet, savoring the moments that pass through me as swiftly as nanoseconds, making myself available to learn and to teach.....whatever is learnable, whatever needs teaching at this late stage of planetary consumption. Greenness is still possible. Hence my passion for passing on environmental tips from time to time...not that the entire mission will be "accomplished" in my lifetime, but that's ok.

And it's time to mention joy. My mission is discovering, uncovering, and spreading - thick as peanut butter - joy through, over, under, everything. The joy that is deeper than sunshine and rainbows, the joy that pylons our very existence with its sturdy truth.