A tweet I read by someone yesterday stayed in my head. It said that the minute you choose to look at life as a positive or negative experience is the moment you choose your experience.
This tweet helped to clarify my thoughts with regard to a recent debate on whether or not there was truth to the statement: Life is not fair.
Frankly, there are days when I want to stand on top of the mountain and shout out, “Life is so unfair!!” Then I take a pause for the cause and explore what it is I am really feeling. It’s easy for empathic people to get emotionally overwhelmed. I mean, looking at “reality” through certain lenses can be downright depressing. For example, if I sit and focus on sex trafficking in Vietnam, the suffering of polar bears and the impact of global warming, systematic rape in the Congo, the prison pipeline in the U.S. for Black and Latino boys, HIV rates, homelessness, healthcare and public education, all at the same time then surely I might be headed for a downward spiral emotionally. One of the greatest reasons for apathy and inaction is that we look at the “problem” and it feels so huge that we don’t see how our efforts can make a difference.
It is on these days that I ponder all of the things I am grateful for. I make lists on paper, I make lists in my head, and I make lists about the people in my life that I sometimes share with them. I’ve been fortunate enough to be connected to the social entrepreneurship movement and know just how many visionary individuals on the globe dedicating their lives to the collective good. Even if you don’t want to start your own project or partner with an organization you can be in action whenever spirit moves you as a volunteer. It’s especially important to remember our own value and that there is always someone worse off than us that can benefit from where we are on our own respective journey.
Of course, there will always be days when I might see life as being unfair, but I like that it’s not happening as often. As we strive for balance and emotional well being there are certain things about life we must accept. I don’t know if I Have chosen a side or an answer to the question. One day I may agree that life is not fair and on another day I will have a totally different point of view. Both thoughts and feelings can be fleeting. They come, they go, we process, we grow. The winds of change are blowing through each of our lives at a fast pace. It is 2012, after all, and much has been said and written about the shifts that are to occur during this time. Fasten your seat belts.
What do you think? Do you agree with what Bill Gates said, “Life is not fair. Get used to it”?
Travels of a Lyrical Ambassador 
Just to answer the final question, I agree. Overall your blog entry was well written and insightful
Ahhh, thanks for your reply. 🙂