To the ones for who I’m better off

At times when nothings turns out the way I would like to, when life seems and endless way uphill, when again I feel out of luck, I try to put my problems into a different perspective, to discern how trifling they are compared to other people’s predicaments. I am dedicating this post to (order totally random):

- the ones who have experienced any kind of material deprivation,
- the homeless,
- orphans, or semi-orphans, who have sold at least one of their parents in their childhood or youth,
- the disabled and their families,
- the blind, the deaf,
- the ones who have not had the luck to be born in a democratic country,
- the ones who have taken out a 100% LtV mortgage loan in CHF in first half of 2008 and are now stuck with outstanding debt twice as high as market value of their property (suckers…)
- culprits of traffic accidents,
- the ones who have to commute longer distances than me and travel in less convenient conditions,
- the ones who have never been abroad,
- the ones who haven’t been clever enough to get in to a renowned university,
- the ones who, despite their brightness could earn a university degree, but come from such poor families that it has been out of reach for them,
- the ones who have lost more than equivalent of their two monthly salaries on the stock market,
- the ones who have been through a bereavement after a departure of a close relative or friend for reasons other than old age,
- the ones who have suffered famine or, thirst,
- the ones who suffer from incurable diseases,
- senile old people the ones who are no longer self-supporting,
- the ones who have never experienced a reciprocated love,
- those who have hurt someone else really badly,
- the ones who have no savings,
- the ones who will never afford to buy their own property or a new car,
- the imprisoned,
- those forsaken or rejected by family and friends on account of being different,
- the mentally ill,
- those suffering from cancer,
- the ones who earn less than me (sounds absurdly, but it refers to over 80% of Poles employed under job contracts),
- the unemployed (especially graduates),
- those who will be fired in the coming year and have no financial resources to fall back on, or have financial liabilities to fulfil,
- students from poor families the ones who have to save on everything to pay for their education
- everyone who barely makes ends meet,
- live in countries where free speech is forbidden,
- the ones whose job does not bring them satisfaction,
- families of addicts,
- the ones who have lived through warfare,
- those who have run up debts they will be paying off till the end of their days,
- children bullied by their parents,
- the ones not capable of mastering a foreign language to a level of fluency,
- the ones who have to look after their ill relatives day and night,
- the ones who cannot have children, but want offspring like nothing on earth,
- who have lost all their belongings in a natural disaster,
- the obese,
- the (secondary) illiterate,
- those who cannot afford to go on holiday and spend it at home (more than 50% of working Poles),
- the ones who have been libelled or slandered,
- the ones whose mistakes led to irreparable losses (including human lives),
- the ones who have complexes on account of their appearance or cannot stand their own reflection in the mirror,
- blue-collar workers who have to plug away outside when in temperatures of –15C or +30C,
- exploited workers, underpaid for their job.

So every time when your life is not a bed of roses, think it could be much worse and think how much you can still lose. The list above could be longer, but based on the above, over 90% of people in my country have it worse than me. I keep it in mind and the awareness of this holds me back from griping about my fate. If your life is not ideal, judge, whether you have more to lose or to win. Be happy with what you have, take pleasure in everything you can, grasp every small joy, look at the bright side of life. Be aware there are billions of people worse-off and try to sympathise with them.