RE: It's Not All Bad! ;) by bethwheatcraft

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$1.55

Man I think about these first world problems a lot, and I am truly grateful for what I have, but I have just a tiny bit different perspective than you.

A good friend of mine from high school grew up in Nambia and moved to America with his family. After high school I caught up with him on Facebook and asked how he was, and he told me he was tired. He told me that Americans work too hard and that he missed his home where everything was more simple. He appreciated America's modern comforts but resented having to use so much of his time to get them.

I still think about this conversation to this day.

This is not to say that everyone living in poverty or dying of starvation in a third world country is my anecdote of my high school friend, but sometimes I think it is hard to see people who live different lives as us as possibly being happy.

For that matter, there was a homeless couple that used to live in my neighborhood as a kid. My mom once asked them if they wanted help and they said they preferred being homeless. They liked being able to do what they want when they wanted. Every Tuesday night they would set up their battery powered radio in the park and swing dance. Every. Tuesday. I mean, I am not saying I would prefer being homeless, but damn as far as life goals go, I wish I was as confident in my life decisions as those guys.

There is so much in life that I want that I find I am always working for it. I am never satisfied in the now seemingly. I am going to try to work on that this year, but I think it is important to remember the perspective that first world problems may seem like a joke, but that everyone's lives everywhere are complex.

So while I am glad that you are grateful and self aware, try not to be too hard on yourself when things go wrong. You are probably working really hard all of the time, and striving to achieve as much as you can. That's another first world problem too, but one that I have found that the third world, and the "underserved" actually feel sorry for us for.

👍 joshsigurdson

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@joshsigurdson · Jan 6 '18

And I certainly understand that perspective too. I'm not trying to generalize the issue at hand. I worked labor construction years ago with a man who actually grew up in Uganda. He once told me the construction work was harder here than it was in Uganda and that the foremen are harder on him. 
With that said, taking advantage of the little things is great and a MUST if you're living in ditches in many of the rougher parts of Africa, but when your mortality rate is incredibly low as a child and you end up eating bugs to survive, I'm sure those in the most wanting situations would love to live in the west. 

I've known many people from all over the world. I knew one kid from India who had just moved to Canada. He had never seen an open space before. He was used to living in slums surrounded by millions of people at all time with people using the streets in public as a bathroom. Picking maggots out of his food. Seeing a field. A park. Snowfall. He looked like a man at the gates of heaven. 

I also spoke with a man from Venezuela recently. His stories are horrific. His family is still there, not able to leave. They're not creating enough passports for people to escape. Their excuse is not enough paper but there's more to that story. Anyways, he actually mentioned Steemit to ME rather than the other way around during a ride share. Spoke of how great these kinds of opportunities are and how lucky we are, though rightly mentioned that Canada is going down the same path as Venezuela was many years ago. 

My point is that while it's subjective, acting as if it's the end of the world because a computer's not working the way it should is pretty dumb in comparison with what so many are dealing with. 

I know it's relative to what one is used to and that which conditions them as individuals, but perspective is necessary in breaking free of the chains that hold us down. It's a self healing tool. There are many I'm sure who live in slums telling themselves it could be worse, and it could. It always could be. It's just important we acknowledge that rather than succumb to unnecessary stress.

👍 bethwheatcraft

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@bethwheatcraft · Jan 6 '18

That's a very good point. I wasn't trying to insinuate that there still isn't a good deal of people suffering. There definitely are. When I am stuck at home with a sick kid, it is always the worst timing ever and I'm usually so tired and depressed, but I stop myself and realize that they will get better. Some parents have kids that won't and while they're sitting in a hospital somewhere, they would give anything to be in my shoes - the parent that has a temporarily sick kid. 

I guess I just meant that you can make yourself just as depressed and stressed by thinking of all the people that have it worse sometimes. That's not to say that having perspective is bad, it's definitely a good thing, but I think balance is important too. I often just have to wallow in my own misery before I can gain any perspective, and then I feel like a fool for having wallowed in my misery when what happened was really not that important, but somehow I just have to go through the process, haha. I remember reading a quote one time that said to always give something the 5 rule. If it's not going to matter in 5 years, don't spend more than 5 minutes thinking about it. It's perhaps too simple, but it's also good practical advice. I wish I could actually follow good advice, haha. Ah such is life.

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