Today's reflection as I tossed my purple skirt in the "delicates" laundry basket and walked to the hall closet to pull out fresh sheets: "Not only am I one of the richest people living in the world today, but I am one of the wealthiest people in all of history."
Think about it: throughout the whole of history, only a handful of people have experienced the conveniences, variety, free time, travel, information, and -- perhaps most significantly -- choices that are routine for you and me. Alexander the Great lacked indoor plumbing; Queen Elizabeth probably did not even know mangos existed; Charlemange never read a blog; Andrew Carnegie did not own a cell phone.
Again, our ability to make our own decisions coupled with the number of options available has been exceptionally rare in the scope of human experience. The ease of our physical experience is similarly unprecedented. Warm showers, 9-1-1 for emergencies, grocery stores with numbered aisles--these are the pipe dreams of our forefathers. We are living our ancestors' wildest imagination.
P.S. This blog post is labelled under the "psychology" category because the theme is as much self-perception v. reality as it is wealth.
Think about it: throughout the whole of history, only a handful of people have experienced the conveniences, variety, free time, travel, information, and -- perhaps most significantly -- choices that are routine for you and me. Alexander the Great lacked indoor plumbing; Queen Elizabeth probably did not even know mangos existed; Charlemange never read a blog; Andrew Carnegie did not own a cell phone.
Again, our ability to make our own decisions coupled with the number of options available has been exceptionally rare in the scope of human experience. The ease of our physical experience is similarly unprecedented. Warm showers, 9-1-1 for emergencies, grocery stores with numbered aisles--these are the pipe dreams of our forefathers. We are living our ancestors' wildest imagination.
P.S. This blog post is labelled under the "psychology" category because the theme is as much self-perception v. reality as it is wealth.
2 comments:
As I read this I pictured you somewhere in the Wesley House slowly getting more animated, concluding on a table/chair of some kind. Smiles...
Don't you like how I'm randoming posting on your blog? Yep, tis true, tis true
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