Perspective

The other night before I went to sleep, I was sitting on my bed with my window open, allowing the cool and refreshing night air flow gently into my room. Suddenly, I was startled by the loud noise of fireworks. By the volume, I could tell that they were set off somewhere in my neighborhood. I was a bit frustrated with whoever had set them off because it was late at night and the 4th of July had passed by exactly a month prior (fireworks around our country's independence day are perfectly acceptable to me). I assumed that it was just a onetime explosion and forgot about it. However, my assumptions were wrong (as they tend to be). Fireworks were set off several more times, each being louder and more startling than the next. Finally, what I find out was the last, a very loud explosion came and scared me half to death. At this point, I was quite angry and annoyed. I opened my door to peak down the hallway to see if my parents' light was still on, indicating that they were still awake. I was hoping they would still be awake so that I could express my frustrations about the fireworks. Suddenly, something was brought to the forefront of my mind.

Gaza.

As I stood by my door, hoping someone would share in my anger, I was reminded that I was perfectly safe. When I heard the fireworks go off, sounding a bit like military explosions, my life was never in danger. The only offending thing about the fireworks was the noise. In Gaza, however, the explosions that are occurring frequently these days forewarn of death and destruction. Here I was in my comfortable home, annoyed with the noise, while I was taking for granted that I would not die because of the explosions. Now, I'm not here to push any political view on you, pro-Israel or pro-Palestine, but I think the majority of us can agree that what is occurring in Gaza right now is horrible and that many lives are being lost on both sides. As I felt my annoyance leave, I realized that I had lost perspective on life. I was ready to complain about something that was so insignificant compared with the circumstances others are experiencing. This made me consider how often I bemoan my life's little problems when, in reality, they have little to no effect on the trajectory of my life. When I find myself apt to complain about something, I need to take a step back and recognize the blessings that I have in my life and that, even though I might be struggling with my own problems, there are other people throughout this country and this world that are experiencing much more trying times. Instead of becoming angry or complaining, I need to find joy in the (many) good things in my life. I can no longer take the gold in life for granted.

Picture from Pinterest