Is life really that bad?

I was sitting on the floor with my back against the wall in the GVSU field house, where all the trophies and achievements sit for all to see and take pictures with. I sat there waiting for class lost in thought till a few people walked by arguing about which game is better than the other, then I noticed a few more people walking by arguing about how one of them didn’t get what they wanted for Christmas so they had to return the items but were upset because they didn’t have time to do so.

I sat there thinking about history and people who were alive in the past, then it dawned on me it is really true the philosophers said this is the time of despair. This is the period of “woe is me” the time of “I didn’t get what I want…life sucks” or just simply “life sucks” How can this be? How can society in this time period be so selfish, so ungrateful? I thought back to the medieval period, think about what they had to eat for a moment. Today we can go to the market and get an orange in the middle of winter while there is a blizzard outside and yet we can go get fresh fruit anytime we want, is that not mind blowing? When you realize people in the medieval times couldn’t do that, it’s crazy to think about it.

Think about how people went through the black plague, constantly cold especially if you didn’t live within a castle. Few got to eat like kings and yet people today eat like kings every day, it’s crazy to think that we live in a time where everyone is living in the future and not in the present. Where everyone is constantly looking forward to something “Can’t wait till I’m older” or “Can’t wait till I have money to do this or buy that” can we not take time and realize how lucky we are? How lucky we are to be alive and know that we have access to medicine that actually works unlike certain medicine back in the day, the breakthrough in the medical field only happened not too long ago, the 70’s or so I believe.

Yet here we are, people are upset about unfairness are upset about certain aspects with life. I understand that life isn’t all laughs and puppy dog kisses but I have a hard time believing that we all have the right to live in such despair, when you put it into focus and think about people in the past and compare it to now. I can’t help but think “Man I am lucky” and that’s without even thinking about the issues or racism it’s just a general thought of “Man I am lucky”

After this dawned on me, I stood up and brushed myself off and made my way to class. Perhaps I am more thankful now than I was the few minutes before I overheard those people, or perhaps I have always noticed this and this moment brought it to light either way I am thankful.