A check up from the neck up

We have more access to information and technology than ever before. Most of us do not have to produce our own food by raising crops which means we have more time. Many of us in this country have two days for leisure activities to do what we choose. We can vote. We have cell phones. We don’t live in fear of our government. Most people around the world do not have these luxuries.

Shopping is a leisure activity for many of us. To others it is the most stressful activity imaginable. Most of us reading this blog (including myself) cannot comprehend what it means to only make four or five dollars a day; the very idea that if you mess up a purchase means someone at home suffers. In other words, if I were to leave the store and drop my eggs I would be frustrated but not crushed. If I drop those eggs only making five dollars a day, someone goes hungry at home.

If you made over $30K this last year, you are in the top 1% of income earners in the entire world. (Think about that for a minute.)

Making money is not evil and having possessions is not a bad thing. But we should be mindful of the stories we tell ourselves. Separate our wants from our needs. Shed unnecessary labels – it’s not good nor bad, right or wrong.

We all need a checkup from the neck up: we live in the safest, richest country the world has ever seen in the history of mankind. Let’s start acting like it.