How rich are you? What do you measure your wealth in? To what can you compare your current state of riches?
If you measure it in hours of free-time you may feel a distinct lack.
If you measure it in dollars you may be comparing yourself to your neighbor or someone you admire and also feel a lack.
If you measure it in access to clean water, food, health-care and other necessities you may feel wealthy.
How far did you have to hike to bring back the water you used for your shower or your coffee this morning? 0 miles is my guess. The average person in the developing world walks 3.7 miles a day for that. Every time I shower or turn on my tap I want to be grateful for the water that flows without a single minute of effort on my part.
How hard was it for you to get the food out of your pantry and fridge and make breakfast? What effort did you expend to buy it from the store? Did you have to walk at all? Did you do anything but pick it up from the shelf and put it your cart? Was there anything done other than the job you worked to pay for it? Does your job involve any manual labor? A subsistence farmer has to spend all their effort and ability planning and toiling on a farm to provide for their family. They will rise early and expend all their energy making sure their crops are successful, animals are fed and healthy and their farm is protected from wildlife and thieves. When I think about it I expend almost no physical effort to acquire the money I am paid to perform my job. In fact I have to go out of my way to add physical activity back into my week so I don't atrophy into a pile of skin and bones. I never have to think about the efforts of my "labor" being stolen by thieves or raided by wild animals. The society we live in has removed those threats from daily life, for the most part.
When was your last doctor's visit? How close do you live to them? Did you have a choice of a multitude of doctors? If you cut yourself badly or injured yourself in an accident how far would you need to travel for emergency care? We have doctors galore. There are medical facilities and urgent care locations nearly all over the map (especially here in MA). I don't think I need to explain how different it is in other countries.
I've made my point. We as a society, in the modern age, have solved the first few tiers of Maslo's Hierarch of needs. You have air, water, food, shelter, security, employment, resources, health, and property. You're not hungry, thirsty, unsafe, unemployed or unhealthy. At least the vast majority of you are. Yet you don't find this to be a rich existence, do you? Why? What has moved the bar so far beyond your daily existence?
It's the measurement. It's the comparison. We are constantly comparing our personal experience to an imagined possible existence and saying "What can be better?" This is a natural and normal state. However, it is no longer serving our happiness. It is now serving a never ending desire for more and more convenience. We will always want more.
You are already rich! If your comparison is no longer producing improvements that are realistic and is just producing jealousy, stop comparing. You are already so rich! Be grateful and enjoy how blessed you are. Ours is a generation that has been given almost everything on a platter and we're upset with the color of the platter.
If you measure it in hours of free-time you may feel a distinct lack.
If you measure it in dollars you may be comparing yourself to your neighbor or someone you admire and also feel a lack.
If you measure it in access to clean water, food, health-care and other necessities you may feel wealthy.
How far did you have to hike to bring back the water you used for your shower or your coffee this morning? 0 miles is my guess. The average person in the developing world walks 3.7 miles a day for that. Every time I shower or turn on my tap I want to be grateful for the water that flows without a single minute of effort on my part.
How hard was it for you to get the food out of your pantry and fridge and make breakfast? What effort did you expend to buy it from the store? Did you have to walk at all? Did you do anything but pick it up from the shelf and put it your cart? Was there anything done other than the job you worked to pay for it? Does your job involve any manual labor? A subsistence farmer has to spend all their effort and ability planning and toiling on a farm to provide for their family. They will rise early and expend all their energy making sure their crops are successful, animals are fed and healthy and their farm is protected from wildlife and thieves. When I think about it I expend almost no physical effort to acquire the money I am paid to perform my job. In fact I have to go out of my way to add physical activity back into my week so I don't atrophy into a pile of skin and bones. I never have to think about the efforts of my "labor" being stolen by thieves or raided by wild animals. The society we live in has removed those threats from daily life, for the most part.
When was your last doctor's visit? How close do you live to them? Did you have a choice of a multitude of doctors? If you cut yourself badly or injured yourself in an accident how far would you need to travel for emergency care? We have doctors galore. There are medical facilities and urgent care locations nearly all over the map (especially here in MA). I don't think I need to explain how different it is in other countries.
I've made my point. We as a society, in the modern age, have solved the first few tiers of Maslo's Hierarch of needs. You have air, water, food, shelter, security, employment, resources, health, and property. You're not hungry, thirsty, unsafe, unemployed or unhealthy. At least the vast majority of you are. Yet you don't find this to be a rich existence, do you? Why? What has moved the bar so far beyond your daily existence?
It's the measurement. It's the comparison. We are constantly comparing our personal experience to an imagined possible existence and saying "What can be better?" This is a natural and normal state. However, it is no longer serving our happiness. It is now serving a never ending desire for more and more convenience. We will always want more.
You are already rich! If your comparison is no longer producing improvements that are realistic and is just producing jealousy, stop comparing. You are already so rich! Be grateful and enjoy how blessed you are. Ours is a generation that has been given almost everything on a platter and we're upset with the color of the platter.
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