There are many things that we should have two of each day: teeth-brushing sessions, 15-minute breaks at work, servings of four glasses of water, and so on. What would life be like if I only had two dollars to spend each day?

Such is the reality for millions upon millions of people around the world. The statistics are both staggering and depressing. In fact, 20% of the world lives on less than $1.25 a day. Oh, and did I say millions of people? I really meant to say billions. Scary, huh?

In the latest series at Forefront, Imagine, we were challenged to eat on $2.00 a day for a week. The point of this is not to make us suffer, but to experience a hint of the hunger, stress, and poverty that billions of less fortunate people have to endure on a daily basis. Maybe then, after identifying with them and participating in their reality, we can be invigorated to change their plight.

Despite this, though, I realized that living on $2 a day in New York is not *that* hard. In the land of Ramen noodles, PB&J, potatoes, popcorn, and other cheap foods, it’s pretty doable. Many of my friends at Forefront have been putting together some incredible recipes under these kinds of constraints. If, however, our consumption was limited to rice and other basic starches, I can imagine how quickly our bodies would start to deteriorate.

The other thing I realized is that we have the luxury of choice. This is something that members of the church are doing voluntarily, while the billions out there have no such liberties. I should fess up right now by saying that I am not participating in this challenge yet, but will do so after I have overcome an illness and have my dental issues addressed. So I’ll probably be attempting this towards the end of February on my own. I hope that I don’t ever take this ability to pick and choose for granted.

I, for one, will be exercising my freedom of choice and using part of my relatively abundant resources to make a difference. Even without direct participation in the challenge (yet!), I am moved by all of my friends who are doing it and really sacrificing. As someone who loves food, I can only imagine how difficult this is for them, and will be for me.

So there you have it. Two dollars a day. Coming to a hungry yet humble stomach near you.

In my last post, I neglected to mention something that happened to me at the end of 2010 that has very strongly influenced how 2011 started. The first night when I came back to Toronto, I went out with some of my friends from high school. As things were winding down and we were all on our way back home, I was inadvertently pushed from behind on the subway. In what felt like an instant, I shifted from standing by the doors to hunching over and clutching part of my front tooth; I had hit my mouth on plexiglass and almost half of a tooth chipped off.

This was one of those freakish accidents that we all think wouldn’t happen to us. More than anything, I was in shock; over and over, I just kept on thinking, “did that really just happen?” This happened in the wee hours of Christmas Eve, so finding a dentist at that time would prove challenging. When I woke up early that day, I started calling around and found a dentist who could fit me in at noon. There was no real discomfort so I was hoping that everything will somehow turn out fine.

X-rays of the tooth suggested otherwise; there was pulp exposure, which means that the area where the nerve is in the tooth was compromised. As there were no immediate sensitivity issues, the dentist cemented the chipped part back on and proceeded to offer no guarantees about any sort of recovery. The tooth may die. I may need a root canal. I can’t bite anything using my front teeth. The cement can break off.

Five weeks later, I went to see a dentist in New York to check if/how things had progressed. I didn’t feel any pain or anything, so I was optimistic that my little nerve hung in there and was on the road to recovery. But, again, x-rays suggested otherwise. It seemed that the tooth was, in fact, slowly dying. He proceeded to reiterate many of the things the dentist in Toronto had said.

It seems, then, that I have little choice: go on without biting and with the knowledge that, one day, the chip will fall off again and that I’d be back at square one, or get the root canal and put a crown in. The latter would mean that I could bite and be somewhat normal again, but I’d have to replace the crown every once in a while. Oh, and that I’d lose the nerve forever. It’s amazing how the most minor of events could have such lasting impacts.

Despite not being able to enjoy many of my favourite foods so far this year, there has been much to celebrate as well: an amazing snowboarding trip out to Killington, fun trips back to Canada, seeing many great friends in concert, being diligent at the gym, and generally having a good time in New York. There’s always a silver lining, huh?