Science Fiction author Sharon Lee made a tweet this morning which got me to thinking:
The internet really is a Slough of Despond lately. Now it’s always been that way to some extent, to paraphrase the epic film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, the internet is about bitching about movies. We’ve gone full tilt on that scale to where we’re despondent about our lives.
From the comfort of central air.
On high-speed wi-fi.
On our laptops, smart phones, tablets.
Fat with all the food we consume.
We are angry at life. Why? Well, I have my theories on that, which could fill a book let alone a blog post, but I have a simple way to break that chain on despondency this morning. Things are not bad for any of us who peruse the internet’s vapid halls, especially those of us who happen to be blessed enough to live in America.
Can I prove this, you ask?
Yes. Here’s a website: http://www.globalrichlist.com/ You can put in your income, and it will show you where in the world you fall in terms of wealth. If you feel like you’re doing it wrong, fighting, struggling, that life is truly awful because work is a drag and it seems a never ending cycle. If you’re slightly below the median American average income at $50k a year, remember that you ARE more than the 1% lucky. You are the 0.30% lucky in life. You are blessed beyond billions of people, and that doesn’t even begin to compare it to our ancestors who used to die of the common cold or freeze/starve to death in the winters. When you go to human history, and you think about it, this is the best time and place to be alive.
But if you listened to social media, you’d never think that. That can be changed too. Let’s all be grateful for a day or two. Our own mindset on how we look at things is exactly that. And that’s why I’m happy to go to work today, to get some small tasks accomplished for my company and then for me. Let’s spread some gratefulness and leave the Slough of Despond in the dust.
Leave a Reply