Sleep Brings Perspective

After sleep and some beer last night and the help of many good friends, I'm doing much better today and I'm reminded of what I tell myself every time I get down about things that happen in my life.  No matter what I'm going through, there is always someone who has it worse.  When I am short on cash, there is a person that lost their job and is now homeless desperately seeking a place to stay and a new job.  When I miss my husband, someone has lost theirs.  When my health is poor, there is someone who is battling a terrible disease or does not have access to any health care.  When I am battling with my emotions that come naturally to anyone in my position, someone else is battling a chemical imbalance that causes them not to be able to control their emotions. When I think my friends are ignoring me, there is someone in a war zone or in training who really is being ignored by those they thought were friends and family.  When I yearn for having children, there is a couple that has tried and failed, whether they have fertility issues or have lost a child.  When I get upset about the ferrets using the carpet, there is someone who wishes they had a pet to keep them company.  When I whine about not being able to go grad school until the Fall of 2011, there is someone who has longed for a college education but cannot go due to financial or family issues.

There are many ways to look at any negative thing that happens, there is always someone going through something worse.  We live in a spoiled country.  Even our poor have video game systems and get to go to school (of course this does not include the homeless).  We have access, even when we have no money, to healthcare.  Sure, many go bankrupt due to the expense of using the ER, but they can still go and get taken care of.  So many are less fortunate than we are.  So many have gone through more than we can imagine.  Even I see this, and I have not had an easy life.  I've gone through more in one life than many would experience in several life times, but there are still those who have gone through more.  There are villages being destroyed and the women raped and children "recruited" into militias.  There are families losing their homes due to flood, mud slides, or foreclosure.  We are all blessed and should reflect on it in our most difficult moments.  It brings perspective to our lives.

P.S. If you comment that many bring things upon themselves, I'll have to delete you from any site that we may be friends on as there are many things that we are born into, things that no amount of precaution on our part that happen, things that happen due to corrupt governments... I could go on.  We should not judge those less fortunate than us and reach out to them.