“Just think how happy you would be if you lost everything you have right now, and then got it back again”

With recent news about the Philippines I find this quote very fitting. I think it’s very easy to moan our lives away and to become disgruntled with what we have. But, how would we actually feel if it all got taken away from us?

The reason we have become so ungrateful for what we have is simply because we spend too much time watching the gains of others, we have become a materialistic society always wanting more without taking the time to appreciate what we have.

I make a conscious effort to make sure the people around me know they are appreciated but I fail daily to appreciate myself and what I have. I recently watched a documentary about North Korea in which I saw tiny children, homeless, lonely and begging for money for a little bit of food.  I then looked at the tragedy in the Philippines and watched the news hopelessly as they talked about the tens of thousands of people who had died as well as shedding some light on the individuals who were left desolate with no clean water, shelter or food.

It got me wondering how on earth we as a country would manage if anything like this happened whilst we are all so consumed in materialistic things there is real suffering in the world. I am convinced that millions of people across the world would look at us everyday people and wish they had what we have got.

So it’s time to stop moaning about what you don’t have, stop watching what others have, make the changes you need to make to appreciate what you do have and think outside of this materialistic box we are all living in.

By truly appreciating the life you have made for yourself you will then find the answers you need to make the changes you seek.

W| By Katie Ryan