"I'm Rich! Bitch!"

In the concise words of Dave Chappelle, I feel I am quite enriched in my life. Perhaps it's Thankgiving talk, but I have come to the realization my day-to-day problems are not the end of the world. I suppose you could call it negative relativism, as in having a bad hair day compared to a bad landmine diffusing day. It's easy to say at the end of the day, at least you don't have to worry about the basic necessities such as hunger and water. And yes, that makes us feel better as we drift off to sleep knowing life isn't so bad afterall.

But on this particular evening my conscience keeps me awake. I can't just drift off to sleep thinking life isn't so bad because it actually is pretty damn bad for a lot of people. I made the mistake of listening to the news this morning and it was filled with death. Some freak accident caused a father and his two sons to perish at sea, and let's not even begin to mention the tragedies in Mumbai. All of this made me question what qualifies as a bad day or having a bad life. It seems everywhere you turn something else is ready to trump you in the tragedy card, as if you couldn't catch a break already. In a way, third world poverty robs developed nations of their first world problems by reducing the significance of their issues. How can foreclosure be a heart breaking tale when someone else doesn't even have all his/her limbs? Don't look at the poor people who are losing out on their retirement fund because of the economic crisis, look at the charities who won't have any support. Who is the less fortunate in this case? In this instance of tear jerk reaction, less is more. I'm not saying it's a competition, but while it's good to put your problems in perspective of someone elses; you are gaining consolation at their cost. Yet, at the same time, their tragedy is robbing you of the right to feel self-pity. So in the end, who comes out on top?

In the end, it doesn't matter. All that counts is if you have made peace with the cards you are dealt. So you didn't win the hand, much less the tournament, but did you walk away feeling you've gained something? Perhaps friendship, knowledge, or a great memory that will stay with you the rest of your life. I can't say I've made peace with everything in my life yet. I have my bad hair days, and I know I shouldn't take it personally because it is better than no hair which is better than no food. And so the diminishing steps continue into infinity rather than nothing because there is always something that could be worse. When one stops on a step and looks down, that is where one finds richness. Once one sees where it leads and where it comes from, one can chose which way to go; make peace and climb up or grovel and step down. I would like to climb back up. I've stopped on a step, I'm just trying to get my bearing to make peace with where I am.