There has been a lot on my mind lately (in case you hadn’t gathered that fact already I just thought I would point out the obvious), and most of that pertains to a sense of restlessness that is quite common enough for me, especially when I am in my beautiful hometown of Perth. (No, that wasn’t sarcastic, it is beautiful and I do love it, but as previously stated, this gypsy also has a love of the world and wants to see as much of it as possible, and when better to do this but when one is young and single with no ties I say?) Along with this restlessness to keep it company comes an anxiety and a certain amount of dissatisfaction.
We live in a world, and in a generation where everything is at our fingertips. We have become a society of instant gratification. We want whatever it is that will make our lives easier, or what is perceived that will make it more fun, or simply because everyone else has it, we want it too — we want to keep up with the Joneses.
I too often, to my own distain, find myself caught up in this world. I want something and I want it now. Don’t get me wrong, I was raised in the Aussie culture of work hard, play hard. Where I was taught early from those around me, specifically my parents, of working towards something you want and the satisfaction that comes when you have saved hard for something you want and can finally afford it. Nor am I saying that we should give up those things that we have worked hard to attain. Not at all, if you have worked hard for something then I believe you should enjoy it and the pleasures that it affords you.
What I think is that too often we are caught up in selfishness. Too often all we can think about is what we want, and we want the things we want to be easy. If something is too hard, we often give up, oft forgetting that the hardest things are often the most rewarding. Or on the opposite note, if we desperately want something we often overlook the pain it may cause us or others to acquire it. We are a self-centered generation.
Lately I have been rather obsessed with the Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. Quite frankly I can’t get enough of them and keep reading them over and over. I think why I can’t get enough is that I see the rather bleak world that Suzanne has so skillfully painted and in it I see a mirror, a murky mirror where somethings are distorted, but a mirror nonetheless of our world today. A world where a minority gets to live in wealth and splendor, never wanting for anything, whose lives are caught up in a silly tirade of parties and fashions and lacking in all forms of substance and reality. Where for these people to live in this world, they essentially prey off the majority who live in poverty and a constant fight for survival.
Something else I haven’t been able to get off my mind lately is the movie In Time that was recently released (fantastic if you haven’t seen it yet- do!). In this movie a character makes a comment, ‘for a few to live forever, many must die young.’ To which the reply by the main character was, ‘No-one should live forever if even just one innocent person has to die before their time.’ This struck me as rather profound. How is it not true that we are not currently living that way already?
For a few of us to live in wealth, many must live in poverty. For a few of us to live in comfort and have long lives, many must fight to survive everyday, never knowing which may be their last. This world that we live on cannot support all of us to the level of living for which we aspire.
There is nothing wrong with wanting more, rather it is through this that we gain so many new inventions and better ways of living.
But, is it right that we succeed and live long, healthy lives and have all we could want and more, when others are barely able to exist from one day to the next? It is not good enough, we all need to get off our couches, you and me both and DO something. It doesn’t matter what, every little bit counts. Read about the issues of today, sign a petition, donate some money to a worthy cause, sponsor a child, whatever it is that your bank account can sustain (and being a poor student, and recently poor traveler I understand that it is often hard to commit to giving any amount of money), but there are other ways to help. Even if it is just reading about things and staying abreast of worldwide issues. This world is dying and it is all because of our generation’s ignorance and selfishness.
It was funny, the other day I was in a suburb of Perth called Gooseberry Hill for a birthday dinner, and I noticed a sign that stated people could bring their dogs to have a photo with santa on the coming Sunday. I couldn’t help but look at it in incredulity. How many kids go without, who DIE for the lack of a 2cent immunisation, and yet people would more willingly pay to have a photo of their dog with santa on the mantlepiece that to give that money to help others?
The world is changing, we are seeing a new era come in, and no-one really knows that this era will bring. The world is changing...and it is time that we changed accordingly.
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