on 1/19/01 1:09 AM, pentax-discuss-digest at
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> But what hurts me most is the incredible stupidity and arrogance and
> ignorance of the young and wealthy blue blooded batch of current
> "aristocrats"! (Of what ever goddamn country!) People who have not the
> slightest notion of just how lucky they are, people who think others are
> poor because they're of a lower species or something and so deserve it!
> People who care nothing about those who are not "successful". Arrogance and
> stupidity and ignorance in the extreme! (And very little left of unselfish
> thought and feelings...! )
> Get some gratitude! If you can...
> Skip
Oh, man, do I second this. It has made such a big difference in my own life
to start trying to see things from a "how fortunate I am" rather than a "I
deserve and I don't have" perspective, which was my former mental habit.
This is a simple individual cognitive choice. I'm middle class, without a
lot of disposable income (the result of choosing photography as a career, I
might add <g>), but thinking this way has made me recognize how fortunate I
am and how much we really have. There were medieval kings who did not live
in nearly as much luxury as I take for granted.
Greediness is human nature, and being "well off" is comparative. Have you
ever noticed how people will jockey for a parking space thirty feet closer
to the grocery store, when there are plenty of spaces a a little farther
away? Yet take the parking spot furthest from the store and imagine you're
at the ballpark--you'd brag for a week about what a great spot you got,
"right next to the park." The point being, it's all relative.
In Ukraine, there is 20% unemployment and the average monthly salary is $96.
Few people have cars, and those who have often can't afford to drive them.
People make their own clothes and hosiery is a luxury. One Ukrainian young
person I heard about recently said his dream is to have his own room in the
family's apartment. That, to him, is the definition of being well-off.
Maybe we should all go through this day realizing that we often tend to
think about what we don't have, and looking instead at what we DO have. Ever
since I started my little cognitive experiment, I have felt privileged just
to walk through the grocery store realizing that I can buy anything I feel
like buying. It's a nice feeling. 2.4 billion people on this planet live on
less than $1 a day. Just the ability to walk into a well-stocked grocery
store with enough money in your pocket to buy whatever you want places you
squarely amongst a very small fraction of the world's wealthiest people.
Just a thought,
--Mike
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