“I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.”
~ D. H. Lawrence
Why is it that it’s part of human nature to feel sorry for oneself? What good does it do?
Society today has so many elements in it that are only making it painfully obvious to us that we’re not leading a good enough life. From the fashion magazines where women are confronted with a figure most of them will never be able to get, to commercials for ab king turbo ultra plus where the guys have washboard abs any man would kill for. Not to mention the TV commercials and programs on the Travel Channel reminding us of how beatutiful it is in other countries, and how fulfilling it is to travel around the world.
For most people in Norway today, it’s a luxury to be able to afford going on holiday to some far away destination, or to go to a fancy restaurant to eat a fabulous meal cooked to perfection by French chefs. Still, we’re able to do this, making us extremely fortunate compared to the majority of the world’s population today.
But even with this luxury, it’s not enough… Because we know that there are people who have more and better stuff, thus living a “better life”. Poor us…
I personally try to make an effort not to feel sorry for myself, but living in our ad-driven society it’s hard when you’re constantly reminded of your shortcomings and all those things you just can’t afford.
My trick? Perspective. If I ever for some reason start to feel sorry for myself, I think of how fortunate I am, living in one of the wealthiest nations in the world with all the social benefits that gives me, working with something I really like doing, having a wonderful family that I love dearly, a girlfriend that’s the prettiest and greatest woman I know, and friends that make my days even more eventful and joyful. Then I think about people who are not so fortunate, who live in poorer regions of the world where their understanding of luxury is to get a meal every day, or clean water to drink, or people who have made some unfortunate choices in their lives and ended up living on the streets of Oslo barely coping through the day until it’s time for their next shot.
Even though it’s part of human nature to feel sorry for oneself, our highly evolved brains also have the potential to consciously realize that there will always be reasons why we shouldn’t feel sorry for ourselves, and with a bit of practice I think it’s possible to learn how to see the positive side of matters.. I know it helps me become happier.
(Inspired by Dan‘s “Smile a little bit more…” post, and being ill for three days, having plenty of time to think…)
Hear, hear.