martes, 27 de noviembre de 2012

Why There Are Very Few People Whos Got It Better Than Us

By Kari Ratliff


Many philosophies urge people to count their blessings and to be thankful for the many advantages that they enjoy. Unfortunately a large percentage of people think that they deserve better and that life somehow owe them prosperity, happiness and contentment. Such people often fail to recognize the misery and poverty all around them. If they would only ask themselves whos got it better than us they would probably find that there are indeed very few people as fortunate as themselves.

Thankfulness is one of the key ingredients of true happiness. Many people acknowledge the fact that they are more fortunate than most other people. They are grateful for this good fortune and at the same time they realize that they have done nothing to deserve it. On the other hand, ungrateful people that think they deserve better are often unhappy and discontent.

It would be a good thing if people can bring themselves to measure their own wealth compared to the world population instead of compared to their peers. Less than a tenth of people have access to transport, paying jobs, regular meals and medical care. These privileges are often not even seen as wealth by most western people. Instead they are seen as rights.

The gap between those people that enjoy almost countless privileges and those that have to face a daily struggle to survive is enormous. As time goes by, those that have seems to get even more and those that have very little seems to lose even the little that they had. Many analysts ascribe this growing gap to the greed of the wealthy. They are interested only in their own wellbeing and they simply do not care about the consequences of their greed.

Wealth is not necessarily measured in terms of possessions and status. Many people have spurned material riches in favor of spiritual wealth. They claim that health, happiness and unconditional love are the only things that truly matter. Realists point out, however, that it is very difficult to focus on the spiritual when one is hungry and cold and when it seems impossible to foresee a way in which to survive the next day.

It is an unfortunate fact that most of the world still measure wealth in terms of financial strength. Successful people are seen as those with lots of money and the ability to purchase whatever it is that they may want. People that own numerous houses, cars and their own private planes are the ones that are portrayed as true success stories.

Each person surely has the right to determine his or her own priorities. However, it may be important to also take heed of the tremendous need of other, less privileged people. While nobody can be forced to take care of the needy, it should be something that is on the mind of every person that has never been hungry, cold or lonely.

Anybody that takes the time to really think about whos got it better than us will have to admit that very few actually do. Those that own more possessions are not truly wealthier. For many people their wealth can be measured in their own contentment, their health and the loving relationships that they enjoy.




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