“I’ve been up so long, it looks like down to me”

I was listening to a Randy Newman recording when this phrase caught my attention. It is a twist on the phrase “I’ve been down so long, it looks like up to me” that was the title of a Richard Farina 1965 novel and was first used in the Furry Lewis’ 1920’s era blues song “I will turn your money green”.

The original phrase is meant to convey the hopeful attitude of those who are down and have had to struggle through life for any number of reasons, including their socioeconomic status; the place where they were born; their lack of access to education and healthcare; their abusive or dysfunctional families; their addictions; their mental or physical disabilities; and their lack of opportunities.

Despite their less than desirable circumstances, many in this class of downtrodden people manage to live an uplifting life, grateful for small blessings and trying to live with a positive outlook despite their tough circumstances.

In typical Randy Newman fashion, he employs a clever twist, exchanging the location of only two words in the phrase to convey an opposite downcast attitude displayed by many fortunate people; those who have been born into good circumstances with all the advantages that come with belonging to a wealthy and material rich society.

Despite all they have going for them, many of this fortunate class of people do not recognize how good they have it. They can’t picture themselves walking in the shoes of someone who is more unfortunate than them; yet they have no trouble imagining how great life would be to walk in the shoes of those who have more than they do – and instead of appreciating all that they have, they become envious of what they don’t have.

It is human nature I guess to take for granted all the good things that we have – and all the bad things we don’t have. It seems like we forget to be thankful and feel entitled to the good things we have – we can’t imagine what it would be like to go without all the best things that life has to offer.

Researchers have shown that affluent people are less generous and display less empathy for those who are poorer than they are. An April 2012 article in the magazine Scientific American reported the results of several studies that found as riches grow, empathy and generosity toward less affluent individuals decline, along with compassion for others. The researchers suspect that the reason may have something to do with how wealth and abundance give us a sense of freedom and independence from others. The less we have to rely on others, the less we may care about their feelings.

To help counteract this tendency, it is useful for those who are well off to consider these facts about world poverty from GlobalIssues.org:

• Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.
• 22,000 children die each day due to poverty.
• About 72 million children of primary school age in the developing world were not in school in 2005; 57 per cent of them were girls.
• Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
• Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.
• Every year there are 350–500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million fatalities.
• 2.2 million children die each year because they are not immunized.
• 1.6 billion people — a quarter of humanity — live without electricity.
• More than 1 in 100 adults in the United States are in prison, and more than 9 in 100 black males are incarcerated.
• Every year an average of 33,000 people die from gunshot wounds in the United States.

I have been guilty at times of failing to recognize my own good fortune and the incredible advantages I have been given compared to those who must struggle through life. I had the benefit of being born in a politically stable developed country, to parents who loved me, with good public and private schools, an excellent health care system and the opportunity to attend college rather than fight in a war.Because of these advantages I was enabled to reach my full potential.

I live in a house that I never could have dreamed owning when I was a kid, I drive a new car, enjoy the latest technological gadgets and am preparing for an early retirement in the near future. It is difficult for me to relate to the millions of refugees who are fleeing their war torn countries with just the clothes on their backs, or the struggling single mothers working 2 or 3 minimum wage jobs just to provide the basic necessities of life to their children.

I marvel at stories my Mother tells me about my grandparents, who were immigrant farmers from Canada who raised eight kids during the Great Depression. My Grandmother would not eat when there was not enough food, so that all the children would have something to eat – my mother would dig in the snow under the apple tree hoping to find some frozen apples to quench her hunger. Their family house burned down and they lost all their belongings and had to start from scratch.

My parents who only received a basic education, also managed to raise eight children by working multiple jobs, bringing in additional food and income when they could by living off the land, and living a frugal lifestyle.

Still, I sometime forget my family roots and the struggles they had to overcome, and it bothers me when I find myself complaining about some event in my personal or work life that is trivial compared to the challenges billions of people must face every day and the struggles those in my own family had to overcome in the past.

Here is some advice for those of you who want to avoid becoming afflicted with that  “I’ve been up so long, it looks like down to me” attitude:

• Start a gratitude journal to remind yourself every day how good you have it and how somebody always has it worst than you do.
• Try to interact with or read about people who travel in different socioeconomic circles than you do. It can be centering to see life through the eyes of someone else.
• Live a simple life and avoid the sin of comparison. Be happy with what you have. Don’t think yourself superior in some way because you have more than someone else – or become envious because someone has more than you do.