Perspectives on Suffering

When times get difficult for me as they are right now, I often try to gain perspective by reminding myself of at least two things: how many people have suffered far worse than me throughout human history and how so much of the world right now is suffering far more than me. I try to think of the past history and some of the terrible and difficult living/working conditions that people had to endure. I think of child laborers, women in textile factories, slave labor around the world, the holocaust, genocides, slaves from every time and civilization, the Great Depression, the Oakies in the Dust Bowl, the oppressed in Communist countries, the millions of orphans, the sick dying in hospitals, and much more. The list is seemingly endless. The purpose of doing this is to gain needed perspective and to regain gratitude for what I do have, where I live, the time period that I live in, the freedoms that I have, and the opportunities that lay at my feet. Take some time to look at the following pictures and allow them to give you whatever perspective you need right now.

What did you complain about today?