Sometimes we complain about small problems we encounter in our daily lives, be it having to wait for a bus for too long, or having slow wifi connection, or not having enough motivation to revise and work. Yet if we actually thought about these things, we would realise how insignificant and temporary they actually are. Of course we have larger problems in our lives but so often we end up getting bogged down by things which are easily solved by changing our mindset.
Some things just need to be put into perspective. Over 3 billion people live on less than $2.50 a day, and at least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day (according to globalissues.org). Sometimes we do not realise just how privileged we are to have the opportunity to travel and pursue higher education, and it really angers me when people around me forget this and take their life for granted.
In fact, whenever I feel run-down, I resort to checking in with myself on three points.
- Am I cold?
- Am I tired?
- Am I hungry?
If the answer is ‘yes’ to only one of these questions, chances are, you will feel fine. You can get by for a while being only hungry, or only cold, or only tired. In my experience, you are likely to start to feel bad when you can answer yes to two of these questions, and all you need to work on is improving one of these conditions to feel better. Of course, being cold, tired, and hungry is very unpleasant, and can make you feel desperate physically.
Yet the key thing to remember is that being cold, tired, and hungry is a default state of so many people, whilst for most people reading this article, these states are temporary.
I feel this photo captures my message, as it is a picture of a pastry stand in Spain, something one would immediately associate with buying and eating something tasty. But if you look closer, you will see a homeless man on a bench reflected in the glass. He probably did not have enough money to be able to afford ‘luxury’ pastries.
Wandering Travelographer 