So…

So it would seem that my problems, while mine and intense for me, are as nothing compared to many of my favs.  This makes me feel like something of a jerk.  I mean, compared to others, I am not in bad shape, I am healthy, and there is no one worried about me and my future.

This a reverse form of shadenfreud- pleasure in the stress of others.  Instead, I feel that compared to others, I have it pretty good and should shut the fuck up.

Perspective is everything.

From this perspective, life sucks, but looking from a wider view, jeeze, what the hell am I complaining about?

I feel humbled.

And that is an appropriate thing.  I don’t have it great, and I have lttle money, and life is not so easy now, but-

It ain’t so bad, I do have some $, and it ain’t so hard for me after all.

I keep forgetting that-

It could be worse.

*****

I do not mean to belittle anyone else’s pain and suffering.

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July 10, 2006

My blessings are many and my troubles are few compared to many here. You are right…perspective is everything.

as lbh wrote in her note, perspective is everything. similarly, i have few complaints about my world as whole. that said, our troubles are ours and are no less valid because they are not obvious or dramatic. and anyone who reads you regularly would know that you wouldn’t mean to belittle anyone else’s pain and suffering. at least, you’d think. take care, cat. hugs.

You hit that nail on the head. Sometimes I go back and read my entries and think…. I’ve got it really good, and I’m whining too much. It IS good to step outside our box and see ourselves from another’s perspective but on the other hand, that doesn’t mean we have to be all Pollyanna and pretend our problems aren’t a heavy load sometimes. It IS all relative!

July 10, 2006

Michael always says “everyone else’s pain is as real to them as mine is to me.” What that means to me is that everyone has it good and bad, great and horrible at different times, and EVERYBODY has a right to acknowledge their own pain and suffering, whether it be mental, physical or emotional. You’ve got just as much right to bitch as the rest of us, sweetie! 🙂

wow, perspective is really amazing, isnt it? I kind of keep reminding myself that others do have it rough, but right now it seems like everyone else has so much more than I do. I expect we all are tempted to think that, but a few people saying things like, ‘wow youve been thru a lot’ and you start to feel like an alien, separate from everyone. or at least i do. i’ll try to get some perspective.

July 10, 2006

And I always feel like I shouldn’t complain about my issues because you have it worse. Seriously. I sit here and I’m like, I have money enough to feed me and my cat. I have enough to put a little by. I have a good job, supportive friends, opportunities. It could be and is worse for a lot of other people. You make me want to quit complaining selfishly.

July 10, 2006

i think if you’re hurting you have every right to whinge in your own diary… even if there are people worse off than you

July 10, 2006

Good days and bad days. We all have them. Our own private/personal catalog of sorrow and bitterness. Just the way it is. …..wanting the best for us all….

July 10, 2006

each persons pain or problems is relative to them.. there is no scale. hugs P

July 10, 2006

Y’know, we all have problems, but…we all have good things in our lives, too. Yup, I have a whole shitload (bet it won’t post that word) on my plate right now. I have been dealt an unfair hand. But…I have a roof over my head, health insurance, friends who love me, I am universally admired (self-deprecating laugh)…I take time to PRACTICE happiness and find joy each day. Linette

July 11, 2006

I never thought of you as belittling anyone, or saying your problems were worse. Just cuz we write about our own dilemmas (which we do, after all, know first-hand!) doesn’t mean we think nobody else has any. But yea, it IS always good to consider other people’s hardships. hugs, Weesprite

July 11, 2006

🙂 It is always great to count your blessings.

July 12, 2006

Do not, repeat not, shut the f*ck up. Troubles do not compare. Everyone has a right to say what they feel about their own. Helps us cope with them. We want to hear you!

July 12, 2006

🙁 Hang in there…hopefully the grey clouds will blow over soon!!