The expanding and shrinking of problems

We tend to expand our problems while shrink the problems of others.

Not having access to clean water is a huge problem. One that over 800 million people still are fighting through. But because we live in a different culture with different circumstances, we don’t act with the same urgency to solve someone else’s life threatening problem in someone else’s backyard.

Ten thousand miles away might as well be a million.

On the flip side, we have mortgages, credit card debt, car payments—all consumer debts that create stress. Stress that we walked into to obtain symbols and artifacts to raise our status.

A totally different problem with a totally different consequence.

We are always more urgent to solve our own problems. If we acted as if someone else’s problem was our own, think of what we can contribute? What would be the possibilities?

First we must begin to differentiate between what is an actual fire—a real emergency—and what is an inconvenience. What we deal with on a day-to-day basis is so different from those who live on the edge of safety.