I have this very vivid memory of my childhood: I’d be sitting at the kitchen table of my childhood home, refusing to eat something my mother had prepared to me. Probably rice. I didn’t dig rice as a kid. She’d get frustrated, and say “You know, there are starving children in Africa who would love to have that!”
She was right, of course, and I’d guiltily spoon the offending meal into my mouth because of the starving children in Africa.
As an adult, it can be pretty easy to forget how privileged I am to be born in Canada. By virtue of my nationality, I enjoy a standard of living and wealth that the majority of the world will never, ever reach. According to the Global Rich List, my average net income (personal, not household) makes me more wealthy than 98.16% of the rest of the world.
Yet I want more. I want more money, better stuff, a nicer place. I often feel like I’m behind my friends and family in the material wealth game. Obviously this is completely ridiculous. Not only does this stuff not matter in the grand scheme, I’m way ahead of the majority of the world. I need to remember to stay humble and grateful for my position, and realize just how awesome my life really is.
Fortunately, there are two television shows out there that provide me with a nice little reality check every week. Here they are, you should totally watch them.
Vice
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Now entering it’s second season, Vice is an HBO documentary series produced by one of my favourites: Bill Maher. An expansion off the popular magazine and website from the same name, Vice is a 30 minute show that examines the reality of the human condition. They cover a variety of topics, usually two per episode. Last week they covered climate change (we’re all screwed) and modern day slavery in Pakistan. I consider this show to be my weekly 30-minute dose of how most of the world lives, and it always leaves me thanking my lucky stars I live in the great white North.
You can actually watch whole episodes on YouTube. Here’s the very first episode.
Cosmos
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Originally airing in 1980, Cosmos was a thirteen part television show narrated by Carl Sagan. It was recently resurrected by Seth MacFarlane and Fox. The new Cosmos is narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson (another personal favourite of mine) and has aired three episodes. So far I’ve been loving it. The very first episode examines all of time as if it was a calendar year, with humans only showing up on the scene on December 31st. Nothing like realizing how insignificant my lifetime is to keep things in perspective and help me stop worrying about where my career is going.
You can watch full episodes of Cosmos on Global.
My life (and probably your life too) is pretty awesome when compared to how 98% of humans who came before me, and when compared to 98% of humans who are currently living on earth today. Keep that in mind next time you go coveting your neighbour’s financed BMW.
Do you sometimes forgot how good you have it? How do you remind yourself?
