Tunnel Vision

By SB Zarben

zarben314@hotmail.com

I cannot fathom why some people do the things they do. Sometimes it seems like the majority of the human race is composed of people who make it their personal mission in life to piss off everyone around them and just generally be jerks.

How many times have I been standing in a line, or worse yet, sitting in traffic because one lane is closed off for construction, and some jerk takes it upon himself to bud in? What makes them think that their business is so much more important than mine? Almost as bad is the fact that there is always someone who will let them in and not say a word, perhaps out of a fear of confrontation.

But then, these annoyances are only that. Annoyances. Minor issues in the grand scheme of things that hint at a deeper level of arrogance that runs in us all.

We're all so self-absorbed and ignorant of what is going on around us that it's no wonder the whole world is going down the drain. Terminal tunnel vision. It makes us oblivious to the fact that there are people in the world who are a thousand times worse off than we are and our daily problems are truly insignificant.

I can't stand to hear people complain about how difficult their lives are, how unfair this is and that is when on the other side of the world people die daily to achieve and protect rights that we take for granted every single day. Democracy, freedom of thought and speech and to vote, the right to walk down the street and not fear for your life.

Yes, there are still injustices in our society, still things that reek of bigotry and hatred. But, by and far, our lives in the Western world are free of severe adversity. I would not want to live in any other part of the world.

We are privileged, and yet we act as if it is our right. We sometimes think of ourselves as superior (the white man's burden is still a reality today), and yet it would take so little to turn the tables on us.

Why must we persist in ignoring the fact that we truly have it all? Why do we dwell on the little things, make mountains out of molehills, and forget all the positives? Why do we allow that tiny seed of self-importance to grow and subsequently show off the darker side of our nature?

If we could all just forget about what we want, just for a day, and take into consideration what other people need, imagine the change we would see. When you wake up tomorrow morning make a promise to yourself. Promise that you wont allow yourself to linger on all the annoyances but focus on everything that is right. There are far more positives than negatives, I assure you.

Shake off the tunnel vision and remember that you aren't the only person with somewhere to be a twelve o'clock. Take a second to hold a door open for the person behind you when you go to the mall. Glorify in the fact that you live in a superb part of the world, refuse to sweat the small stuff, and don't get rip-roaring mad when that jerk cuts into the line. Yes, he's being an inconsiderate asshole and perhaps you should gently remind him where the back of the line is but don't blow it out of proportion. Doing so makes it a far greater problem than it actually is.

Maybe you can't do anything about fixing all the problems that run rampant in our world, and maybe you shouldn't have to. You can do something about making your life just a little bit better. Don't be one of those jerks I mentioned at the beginning. See your world without blinders and, by doing so, hopefully experience a better world.

And when you sit down at night to watch the news and hear about the latest bombing in Iraq or the assassination attempt of the President of some fledgling democracy, remember that your problems in relation to the majority of the world's are simply annoyances. Be happy that you live where you do, that you enjoy immense freedoms everyday.

FIN