Keep It In Perspective

Changing your location can have a great impact on how you see things—your life, the way that you’re living.  It can help focus you and it can change your outlook.

When Elizabeth Esther took a trip to Chicago recently, she found out that a trip in a taxi helped her gain perspective on her life.

Louis used to work at a higher paying job, but he was laid off when the economy went bad. Now he works as a cab driver which he says is not a great job because people are trying to save money by taking buses or trains.

I asked Louis what he does for fun–which I immediately realized was the lamest question ever. He just sorta looked at me in the rearview mirror and shook his head.

“There is no fun,” he said. “No vacation. No holidays. Just work and sleep.”

I think it was at that moment I realized how sheltered, how privileged, how insanely oblivious I am to the world outside my little stay-at-home-mom bubble.

What I found interesting was this part where she talks about the comparison.  We all live lives that are full and busy, and when things get tight we can forget that we live in warm houses with good things to eat—even if it is leftovers—and we can get ungrateful.

And that’s a tragedy, because we truly are very blessed in what we have, and there are many that would love to be poor in this country compared to what they have in theirs.

So tomorrow, as you gather with family and friends, remember how truly blessed we are, and how thankful we should be.  Because some people are sacrificing all for their families and will probably be working that day so that they can survive.