stop being grumpy
there have been a few moments over the past weeks that have reminded me to keep my woes in perspective. wanted to share a few thoughts, because...well, we are the lucky ones.
it is only by chance that my conscious was born to this body, born from my parents, who happen to live in the US and A (like my Borat reference?), who happen to be relatively affluent, happy, and smart individuals. I was provided for and my path was paved... this is too untrue for too many others who had a different turn of chance at inception.
recently i was doing research in the stamford, CT area - meeting with "tweens" (not kids, not teens, but somewhere in between...get it?...'tweens). most of this experience was a complete joy - it's wonderful to see your consumer face to face and this demographic of the american society is an outstanding combination of naiveté and wicked-smahtness. my smile became heavy, however, when we began our "home visits." Specifically, the first kid we visited (in bridgeport, CT) lived in a 1 bedroom apartment (1 bdrm, 1 living room, 1 kitchen, presumably 1 bathroom - however, i can't confirm that) with 5 other people in his family. yes, you heard it right...6 people living and sleeping in a 1 bedroom apartment. Oh, and i should preface this by saying that when we pulled up to the humble abode, i didn't realize we had arrived and slyly asked our research manager: "why is wyn asking for directions from the local junkie?!" we parked and i soon found out - this was the dad.
upon entering i was bombarded with the smell of cigarette smoke. not stale, lingering, furniture stench, but the fresh airborn second hand variety (hope i'm not offending, but i'm pretty sure the current smokers out there reading this keep their smoking to the great outdoors). moments later i met dave...the 20 year old jobless brother with multiple face piercings, a smirk with no front teeth, and slits of eyes who's glint told me he was seeing me through some sort of drug hazed filter. then we met the 2 year old twins. and these poor creatures i can hardly describe...completely inarticulate, unfocused eyes, running around screaming until they would sit down and cry to be held for no reason or until they simply laid on the floor, face down, staring point blank at nothing. as i watched i thought to myself: "oh my god, i can't believe i'm in the same room with crack babies."
to make an already long story short, or at least shorter (i won't even go into the details of the car repo), here's what i'm getting at...
we are all blessed to have what we have. NOT to say that we don't deserve it all, because it's one thing to be given opportunity and another to make something of it. we are all successful in this game of life, and cheers to us for getting here - plenty of people are given the chance for a good life, only to squander it. but there are also amazingly good, smart kids out there being suffocated by their parents' mistakes. we are lucky to have been given a good start, and we can pat ourselves on the back for doing something about it. don't block out what could've been... see it, let it sink in, and thank your lucky stars.
and next time you're stressed about work or money or relationships or the lack of beer in the fridge or having missed LOST last night (damn it!!)...try to remember all that you have to be thankful for, all that is so right in your lives. if nothing else, we have each other. oh, and i got dave's number, so i have a new drug connection
if keeping things in perspective proves difficult, read this... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_worm
that's all folks, rock on, keep l-i-v-i-n', and be righteous to one another...
it is only by chance that my conscious was born to this body, born from my parents, who happen to live in the US and A (like my Borat reference?), who happen to be relatively affluent, happy, and smart individuals. I was provided for and my path was paved... this is too untrue for too many others who had a different turn of chance at inception.
recently i was doing research in the stamford, CT area - meeting with "tweens" (not kids, not teens, but somewhere in between...get it?...'tweens). most of this experience was a complete joy - it's wonderful to see your consumer face to face and this demographic of the american society is an outstanding combination of naiveté and wicked-smahtness. my smile became heavy, however, when we began our "home visits." Specifically, the first kid we visited (in bridgeport, CT) lived in a 1 bedroom apartment (1 bdrm, 1 living room, 1 kitchen, presumably 1 bathroom - however, i can't confirm that) with 5 other people in his family. yes, you heard it right...6 people living and sleeping in a 1 bedroom apartment. Oh, and i should preface this by saying that when we pulled up to the humble abode, i didn't realize we had arrived and slyly asked our research manager: "why is wyn asking for directions from the local junkie?!" we parked and i soon found out - this was the dad.
upon entering i was bombarded with the smell of cigarette smoke. not stale, lingering, furniture stench, but the fresh airborn second hand variety (hope i'm not offending, but i'm pretty sure the current smokers out there reading this keep their smoking to the great outdoors). moments later i met dave...the 20 year old jobless brother with multiple face piercings, a smirk with no front teeth, and slits of eyes who's glint told me he was seeing me through some sort of drug hazed filter. then we met the 2 year old twins. and these poor creatures i can hardly describe...completely inarticulate, unfocused eyes, running around screaming until they would sit down and cry to be held for no reason or until they simply laid on the floor, face down, staring point blank at nothing. as i watched i thought to myself: "oh my god, i can't believe i'm in the same room with crack babies."
to make an already long story short, or at least shorter (i won't even go into the details of the car repo), here's what i'm getting at...
we are all blessed to have what we have. NOT to say that we don't deserve it all, because it's one thing to be given opportunity and another to make something of it. we are all successful in this game of life, and cheers to us for getting here - plenty of people are given the chance for a good life, only to squander it. but there are also amazingly good, smart kids out there being suffocated by their parents' mistakes. we are lucky to have been given a good start, and we can pat ourselves on the back for doing something about it. don't block out what could've been... see it, let it sink in, and thank your lucky stars.
and next time you're stressed about work or money or relationships or the lack of beer in the fridge or having missed LOST last night (damn it!!)...try to remember all that you have to be thankful for, all that is so right in your lives. if nothing else, we have each other. oh, and i got dave's number, so i have a new drug connection
if keeping things in perspective proves difficult, read this... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_worm
that's all folks, rock on, keep l-i-v-i-n', and be righteous to one another...
posted by sokrates at 1:15 PM
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