Gratitude Sunday | Daily Quote No. 58
You don't realise how good you have it...
‘No matter your circumstance, there is always someone somewhere who is in a worse situation than you.’
Just a brief search to see if there is an existing quote out there like this comes up with a list of articles/posts of people getting incredibly defensive saying quotes like this are ‘damaging to mental health’ and ‘playing down other people’s problems’ - this is an unhelpful way of thinking about this quote.
This is a quote which is basically a guiding principle in my life. No matter what I am going through I always remember how fortunate I am, this does not mean that it is not okay to feel like things are tough, but it helps massively to keep the situation in perspective.
There are people in the world right now who are still slaves, children whom have cancer, parents whose children have cancer, people living in oppressive authoritarian states. Then you look back in history, there were young men drafted into World War I and World War II, millions of people died, millions of Jews died in concentration camps. Further back in history, massive pandemics (far bigger than Covid) killed millions across the world - when healthcare was not understood, so if you caught it there was very little hope for you. Back in cave times the average lifespan was just 25.
So, if you live in a modern country with access to some form of health care, the internet, or have even for part of your life been graced with the privileges that come with living in a rich (not Western rich, Globally rich) country, then you have to acknowledge that you have experienced something that billions of people around the world (and in history) could only dream of.
Things may be tough for you, and that is okay for you to admit, just keep it in perspective. It is a lot healthier to realise that people have dealt with far worse, than to lay on self pity and wallow. Take the challenges you are going through with an appreciation about how fortunate you have been. Be grateful.