It's been a while since my last blog, and I guess my blogging in general has been slowing down. I thought that maybe I had run out of things to rant about, but that's not it. It's because I've come to a realization. First world problems aren't problems at all. The things I see going on around my home town, and that I see on the news throughout north America, don't matter.
I've started playing a fun new game with myself. It's a fantastic game. It makes you feel better about yourself, your situation, your social status, or any of your problems really. It's quite simple, and I invite you to play too! All you have to do is, the next time you are upset, or angry, or depressed, or stressed, stop. Take a quick breath, and then, in your head, call yourself out, through the eyes of a person that is much worse off than you. It sounds a bit confusing, so I'll give some examples:
You get your electric bill, and it's quite high. You realize, that the electric company has increased their rates, yet again. You realize you're going to have to be a bit tighter with your money, until payday, to make sure you can afford the bill. Stop! Now, say it in your head, through the eyes of a rickshaw driver, who lives in India, and has his three children and wife living with him in a 400 square foot shack, that doesn't have running water. "Oh, so your dishwasher, big screen TV, washing machine, oven, and air conditioner are costing you a bit too much money, so you might need to cut out the $6 Starbucks coffee tomorrow morning, or god forbid, due without those new designer shoes you've been eyeing up. Life is tough for you. I sure wouldn't want to be in your shoes."
Or how about, your car breaks down on your way to work. Now you're going to be late, you need to pay for a tow truck, who knows how much your repair bill will be, and now you'll need to share your spouses car until yours can be repaired. Stop! Through the eyes of a Darfur refugee, who lived in a small village, but was forced to leave everything he has ever known, to flee rebel forces, that will kill him, his wife, and his children, if he doesn't flee fast enough. "Oh, so one of your families many vehicles has inconvenienced you. Now a very small portion of you annual salary will need to be used to pay someone else to fix it for you. Not to mention the stern talking to you will receive once you get to your place of employment, where you have, a roof, heat, no people with AK-47s trying to kill you, water that runs through a cooler, because lets face it, room temperature water is almost undrinkable. Then you will need to leave for work 10 maybe even 15 minutes early for the next few days, because you will have to be in the same car as your spouse for the commute to AND from your job. I know I spend 80% of every day, just trying to put food in my families bellies, but dealing with a car breaking down would be horrible. Sucks to be you right now."
See how it works now? Next time you have a problem, try looking at it through someone else's eyes. Someone that has REAL problems. Maybe a single mom, that is working 2 jobs, and is 2 month behind on her rent because she had to miss work to go for chemotherapy. I know that's grim, and dark, and not something to joke about, but that's the point. Some people have real problems. All your drama in life is pretty laughable through the right eyes. If you can have a different perspective, it's easy to make light of a shitty situation. This little game I play is a way to gain instant perspective, and maybe laugh at your situation, instead of cry. Feel free to call others out on their bullshit too. Next time you get a sob story, just say "first world problem". Shuts them up real quick.
I've quoted it before, and I'll quote it again. "And somewhere around the world, someone would love to have my first world problems." Matthew Good.
Too true.
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