The One with Life-Changing TV...

I didn't grow up watching a lot of TV. I had a few favorite shows and I rarely missed The Grand Ole Opry on Saturday nights. Most of the time, though, I was too busy playing outside, being mommy to my baby dolls in my room, writing, having surgery or attending Girl Scouts/Dance Class/Charm School to watch TV.

I still pride myself on not watching a lot of TV. I have a DVR, which is a God send because it affords me the ability to record my certain favorite shows, watch them and only them--fast forward through the commercials (the best part!) and bypass anything I don't want to see. TV can be a bore, and a lot of it is pure rubbish.

But, once in a while, you watch something on TV that changes your life. This happened to me a few weeks ago.

I was channel surfing, which I honestly rarely do, and came across a show called "Blood, Sweat & T-Shirts," on the Planet Green Channel. So I watched it. And I cried. And I then I shut up about my worries, stopped complaining about pettily little things and was reminded of how truly blessed I am!

Yes, I say I'm truly blessed all the time, and I am. But, for anyone who doesn't think their blessed, watch this show and you'll learn that you are indeed, very blessed too!

This show is about how clothes are made over in India. In the factories, cotton fields and slums (literally) of India. It's about how Indian Workers work in deplorable conditions, for 10--12 hours at a time and make literally pennies a day. (Actually they make Rupees, but after currency conversions, it comes down to pennies a day--roughly around 60c.).

The show took six "fashionista's" from England and sent them abroad to learn about how their clothes were really made. These were six young teenagers who didn't have a clue about life beyond their little world. (In truth though, what teenager does?). They were into clothes and fashion and didn't really care about how it got to them. Neither did I, really. Back in the mid-90s, there was a big Anti-Sweat Shop movement, so I had some idea of how clothes were really made. What I did not know, like these English Teenagers, is just how horrible of a condition the clothes are made in. And I'm not talking fabric.

These precious Indian Workers labor all day, in factories that aren't air-conditioned or heat controlled, in blistering cotton fields and in slum rooms that as one of the girls put it "is hell."

These people (the workers) work this way and know no different. They start working at incredibly young ages, some as young as 8 or 9 (and probably younger if you did some digging) and work literally 10 hours a day to afford a ROOF over their heads--and not much else. The working conditions and the pay are absolutely horrible.

It is like that one girl said, "welcome to hell."

The child laborers are what got to me, because you know me and my love for children! I just think children are the best thing ever and to see them having to work like this is just....so sad. The sadder thing is that they HAVE to, in order to help their families out, in order to provide food and shelter, they have to work. They don't have a choice. Working is not a luxury, it's a necessity. Sure, most everyone in the world (unless you're born really rich) does have to work. But in most places, there is a support system in place for children who are too young to work, or those who are physically/mentally unable to work. Working is necessary, but in most cases, you'll still be able to find food and shelter if you don't. And when you do work, the descent wage helps you buy food at pretty much descent prices.

Yes, I know things have gotten way more expensive here in America and a lot of people are out of work, I'm not blind to the problems of my own country, I'm just acknowledging the problems of others.

Anyway, these workers (kids or not) stand in the cotton fields and make around 5c for every oz. they pick, can you imagine that? They have to pick at least 1-5 liters a day just to make do. They live in squallier, literally, squallier, and they go to the bathroom (if you can call it that) in a hole in the ground. A literal hole in the ground, most of the time, without indoor plumbing. They squat in the ground and then have to clean it out and cover it up.

I mean, it's 2010, how is that possible in so called "civil" parts of the world? I understand that happening in indigenous tribes and all. And if people CHOOSE to live that way, hey, more power to them. But, these Indian Workers, I don't think they're choosing to live that way. They work from 8am--5 or 6pm, on a short day--NON-stop--and if the load of cotton isn't done being sorted through--they work into the night, with no overtime pay. In fact, they pay most of their wages to a Landlord who affords them a room--often one without a window or a bed. Those are the cotton field workers.

The sewing factory workers, most of them sleep AT their work stations (sewing machines) or UNDER them. No kidding! Can you imagine having to sleep under your desk at your work? Or how about sleeping under your cash register? These sewing factory workers, a lot of them do sleep there at night because they don't want to "waste" money on "rent," instead preferring to "send it [their wages] back home". They don't change clothes for days in a row and a shower is a rarity, not a daily event. I mean, that's just horrible. The workers who work in the slums, well, they live where they work too. They work and live in even WORSE conditions than the sewing factory workers or cotton field pickers.

I'm telling you, I just cried and cried.

I thought to myself through all four shows (it was a series) "and WE bitch about our jobs? Why exactly?" Seriously, what the hell do we have to bitch about? Not much, I'll tell you that.

I'm sure that this happens all over the world and I'm sure that before Labor Laws (i.e. the entire reason Americans celebrate Labor Day!) things were like this for Americans too--in the earliest days of this country. But, in today's America--at least we have laws against that crap and most people get to go home at the end of their shift. And when they don't, they're properly compensated with overtime pay.

So, the way I see it, is, I'm never going to bitch about any job again. I love my current one! I have never really bitched about. Truly. I've had some crazy days there and I think everyone can say that. But for the most part, I absolutely love it and I am blessed to have a job that I love so much! But, even if I didn't love it as much as I do--it's still a heck of a lot better job than these Indian Workers will ever have.

At least at the end of my day, I get to go home! I get to go home to a nice spacious place that IS heated/cooled by the lovely invention of electricity and air-conditioning! I also work in an air controlled facility! I get to drive myself home from that work in my own car. I don't have to walk miles and miles to work or stay there for days because I don't have the time to get back home. I get to come home and EAT, or stop and pick something up on the way. I get to come home and CHANGE CLOTHES and SHOWER--with fresh, running water. It's a miracle!

I'm not saying that Americans don't have it tough. I'm not saying that there isn't severe poverty or hunger in America, because there most certainly is. And I really do wish people would be open to recognizing that. I'm also not saying that these Indian Workers go hungry every night--the one thing I did see is that they all got to eat. Not gourmet meals or anything, but they did eat at night. I'm not saying that ALL of India is this way and that no one should ever buy clothes that are made in India. If we did, they'd be out of jobs and in an even worse position than they already are. But, what I am saying is that it's time to open our eyes, be more aware and more conscious of how others are affected by our decisions. It's time to be more aware of how truly blessed we all are, just by the sheer fact that we are HERE, and not THERE. That alone is a blessing.

I'm not saying that all these workers hate their lives--in fact, some of them had a light in their eyes that you do not see in people who have been blessed their entire lives. I'm not saying all of them would change their living/working conditions if they could. I do believe somewhere deep down--on a human level--they know this isn't right, but they don't have the power/time/energy/education or resources to do something about it. And even if they could, how would they handle a non-poverty ridden life? Could they handle it at all? Many can't. And even though education is the absolute key to ending poverty and abuse, in some cases, ignorance really is bliss--and I think, for some of these Indian Workers--their ignorance is their bliss. Because they've never known any different, and sadly, perhaps, never will--it's their ignorance that keeps them alive, and keeps them going.

I'm reminded of my Women's Studies class right now. Before you roll your eyes and click onto the next blog, hear me out. My Women's Studies Class was a class about Gender, Race and Class....the Class part being what I learned the most about. The pull between rich and poor, the abundantly rich and the truly poor. The middle class and the Working Class (my family falls somewhere in between the latter two). It taught me so much about the connection between basic living conditions (food, clean water, shelter), education and poverty. Of course, it only spoke about Gender, Class and Race in America, but still, it was life changing none the less.

And so was this TV show. "Blood, Sweat & Tears," made me think about my life and my job, in a completely different way. It made me put my life and work into perspective. It made me shut up about the stupid little things that I've never really had to fight for (food, shelter, etc.) and even more tremendously grateful for how VERY good I've always had it.

At the end of the series, the teenagers all ended up realizing that they were "privileged," and you know what? I am too.

Not because I've ever been monetarily rich, or charted a plane over to Italy or sipped champagne with celebrities (okay, I did that once, but that's another story), but because I am abundantly rich in so many other ways! So many every day, basic human ways! I have food, shelter, clean water, clothes on my back, running water, electricity, plumbing! And I have ALWAYS had those things.

Money is tight, but it's not impossible to obtain. It may not go as far as it used to, but it still goes a heck of a lot further in American than it does in the slums of India. And that is why I am truly blessed!

I want to point out that I don't feel the need to apologize for the fact that I'm blessed or life-rich. I do think as long as I'm aware of it and grateful for it-and I pray for those who aren't, and do my part to help those who aren't, than I think it's okay. The point of this series was to strike a chord and make the view feel something, it certainly worked for me.

I think God wants us to be happy and enjoy life, to love and labor equally. I don't quite understand how poverty like that that exists in India can exist at all. It's when I see stuff like that that I can totally understand why some people don't believe in God at all. I mean, what kind of loving God would make His children go through that? But, at the end of the day, I think He loves us all equally. He wants the best for us. And He uses some of us (those that are sick or poor) to teach the rest of us. I was definitely taught by these precious souls.

I also want to point out that I know that it's all about how material (no pun intended) is presented. And all media and TV shows have a slant. But this one got to me.

"Blood, Sweat & Tears," affected me in a major conscious-shift kind of way. It made me realize not only how blessed I am, but how I need to pray for those that aren't. How I need to recognize that it's truly not about THINGS--and how an enduring, beautiful spirit can be found ANYWHERE--even in the slums of India. It made me realize the importance of awareness and the beckoning necessity to "think globally, act locally." (That's kind of the slogan of my generation now.)

This show also reminded me of the compassion that I have. It reminded me of how I used to be a as a little girl, five years old (seriously) worried about the starving kids in Africa. I've always felt a pull to the less fortunate in life. I know that I cannot single handily fix the world, and I've stopped trying. I do my best to live in the moment and not worry about that which I cannot fix. But, I can certainly fix my attitude and my outlook--and "Blood, Sweat and Tears," helped me do just that!

I encourage you to watch this stunning series if you ever have the chance. I hope that it will affect you as positively as it has affected me. I think, if you're like me, it will indeed raise your own gratitude, compassion and awareness; and isn't that was great television is supposed to do?

For the kids/loves in India.

In Light N' Love,
-Sarah Liz :)

P.S. As always, thank You, Lord, for my countless blessings & truly privileged life! It is all because of You!