Want to be stress free? Become poor!
Here in Canada, as well as the rest of the civilized free world, we consider ourselves to be fortunate enough to have clean water, clean air, clean land, relatively good food...things that in some parts of the world would be either a luxury or an impossibility. We must look very lucky in the eyes of those less fortunate than ourselves.
But are we truly lucky?
I have talked to people who have travelled extensively around the world. They have been to Mexico, parts of South America, parts of Africa and Asia. Places I haven't yet been fortunate to go to. The first thing most of these people tell me about these places is that they are dirty.
Very, very dirty.
Which is to be expected. You cannot have that many people living in a one room shack and be neat and tidy. It's just not going to happen. The buildings are not steel and glass monstrosities; they are simple straw and mud buildings.
The second thing they tell me is how little these people earn for their hard work.
Again, this is to be expected. Here in Canada, our standard of living is such that we (as in, our businesses) can take advantage of lower wages and absent health benefits that people in other countries receive for working. What a unionized worker here in Canada would be paid $20.00 an hour plus benefits to build, a poor peasant farmer in some third world country would get $0.20 an hour (if they're lucky). And no benefits.
The third thing they tell me is that these people are happy.
That is unexpected.
And yet, it is true. The people are so happy to be doing something, anything, that they have no reason to feel any other way. They are just unbelievably happy.
Maybe it's because they don't hear or see anything from the rest of the world. No bombardment of media coverage infiltrating their society could be a reason for their happiness. I'm no doctor, but that could be a reason.
All I know is, I've had friends who have had to be put on anti-depressants for the rest of their lives. I've known parents and children who have had to deal with Ritalin, the child version of cocaine. I've seen friends come very close to killing themselves because they can't deal with the problems that come with our society. I've had friends who ruined their lives with drugs and alcohol because it was easier than trying to cope with their problems.
I put that last case of beer away seven years ago. I've only touched a bottle once in that time.
We look at our modern conveniences and believe we are happy. Are you happy?
We look at our modern conveniences and believe we are lucky. Are you lucky?
I'm beginning to think maybe we're not the lucky ones.
Maybe the lucky ones are the ones who don't watch television, who work hard all their lives because they need to eat, who don't run to the medicine cabinet when they feel sad, who don't worry about what's going on in the rest of the world.
But are we truly lucky?
I have talked to people who have travelled extensively around the world. They have been to Mexico, parts of South America, parts of Africa and Asia. Places I haven't yet been fortunate to go to. The first thing most of these people tell me about these places is that they are dirty.
Very, very dirty.
Which is to be expected. You cannot have that many people living in a one room shack and be neat and tidy. It's just not going to happen. The buildings are not steel and glass monstrosities; they are simple straw and mud buildings.
The second thing they tell me is how little these people earn for their hard work.
Again, this is to be expected. Here in Canada, our standard of living is such that we (as in, our businesses) can take advantage of lower wages and absent health benefits that people in other countries receive for working. What a unionized worker here in Canada would be paid $20.00 an hour plus benefits to build, a poor peasant farmer in some third world country would get $0.20 an hour (if they're lucky). And no benefits.
The third thing they tell me is that these people are happy.
That is unexpected.
And yet, it is true. The people are so happy to be doing something, anything, that they have no reason to feel any other way. They are just unbelievably happy.
Maybe it's because they don't hear or see anything from the rest of the world. No bombardment of media coverage infiltrating their society could be a reason for their happiness. I'm no doctor, but that could be a reason.
All I know is, I've had friends who have had to be put on anti-depressants for the rest of their lives. I've known parents and children who have had to deal with Ritalin, the child version of cocaine. I've seen friends come very close to killing themselves because they can't deal with the problems that come with our society. I've had friends who ruined their lives with drugs and alcohol because it was easier than trying to cope with their problems.
I put that last case of beer away seven years ago. I've only touched a bottle once in that time.
We look at our modern conveniences and believe we are happy. Are you happy?
We look at our modern conveniences and believe we are lucky. Are you lucky?
I'm beginning to think maybe we're not the lucky ones.
Maybe the lucky ones are the ones who don't watch television, who work hard all their lives because they need to eat, who don't run to the medicine cabinet when they feel sad, who don't worry about what's going on in the rest of the world.
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