THE PROBLEM WITH FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS
In three separate instances last week I or someone I know brought up a concern only to have someone dismiss it as a “first world problem” or otherwise point out how others have it worse.
Here’s the thing: others always has it worse. There are people who have to walk three hours a day and risk getting raped just to get water that will give them Hep E from the fecal runoff of the village upstream or even worse from the factory pollution upstream from them. And ya know what? Someone in a Congolese prison somewhere has it worse than that too.
That’s why the bathrooms at the monestary are marked “Sam” and “Sara”: because Samsara is a world of shit…
Knowing this, and holding it in the mind is a powerful tool for perspective about your own circumstances and generating compassion for the plight of others. It maybe stops you from thinking along the whole “Whoa is me! Why am I so cursed? Why does all this shit happen to ME!?” track of thinking. That kind of thinking is never helpful or true.
HOWEVER
That does not mean that everyone should be unconcerned about their own lives because someone has it worse. It doesn’t make you selfish to want a better life than you have. You should have perspective and gratitude for what you have – yes, but that doesn’t mean you cannot have more.
First world problems are the problems we have in the first world.
There is a big difference between having perspective, and telling someone that their problem is not bad enough. This is not the Suffering Olympics, where only the shittiest problems get handled.
In Financial Sorcery I devoted several paragraphs to perspective about income levels, pointing out that anyone who makes more than 40k a year is in the top 1% income earners on planet earth. A lot of people found this strange for a book about increasing your financial well being, but I did it so that people would have perspective about their lives, not suddenly decide that they should just be happy with what they have or even less.
I am at a weird place in my career right now where I do consultations for people are desperately looking for work one hour, and readings for a VC the next. Both of them have problems that they need handled. They can get equally concerned and worked up over their respective problems because this is what is on their table.
Worse than giving people a guilt trip about simply living their lives, this kind of thinking actually can trip people up into complete inaction and perpetuating suffering. A while back, on a group dedicated to prosperity magic no less, someone who was themselves in financial need at the time actually said the following: “how can sit comfortably making six figures when there is so much suffering in the world?” I flipped it around and asked him how he could not? Does him being poor make others rich? NO. Might he be in a better position to do something to alleviate poverty is he himself was fiscally stable? Yes.
The point I am trying to make is this: Your problems, worries, and desires do not disappear because others have it worse – and you should not let anyone make you feel like they should.
1. Being aware of what is going on in the world is good. Let it generate compassion for others and appreciation for what you have.
2. Being aware that your world and the larger world are linked is even better. Let that compassion turn into action to make the world a better place, and that appreciation turn into generosity for those that have less.
3. None of this means that you cannot be concerned about having a comfortable retirement, or be concerned about personal debt, if these are things that effect you personally.
It doesn’t mean its wrong to want stuff either. Whether it’s a car with third row seating, a vacation home, or a figgin Bugatti wristwatch. I personally hope that you get it.
