Underappreciation; My Philosophy

Recently, my friend and I had a conversation that occurred when we were debating whether to take the elevator or the stairs. Oh, that internal struggle. Should I be healthy and take the stairs? It's only 2 floors up...but the elevator means I don't have to walk.... Almost every time I find myself in this "predicament" (if it even qualifies as a predicament), I almost always end up taking the stairs (excepting those few months after I broke my left knee--and even then, I was stubborn and often took the stairs, despite the pleading of my friends to accept my handicap). 

My philosophy is that I am healthy. I have two legs, the ability, and the energy to take the stairs. If my only reason for taking the stairs is to get exercise, then by all means I should do it. "Getting enough exercise" is not something much of the world even considers, whether because lack of other resources are prioritized or because there is a lack of physical ability. Therefore, it is a privilege to be able to take the stairs and I should do it. 

Another form of recognizing and appreciating what one has comes in the form of food. The USA wastes 40% of consumable food, and Winston-Salem is third in the nation for highest rate of food insecurity--meaning that we have a considerable percentage of the population that more often than not does not know where their next meal is coming from. Too often, especially being on a college campus where most students are considered wealthy, I see plates of half-eaten food being thrown away. No matter how "bad" the food in our cafeteria is (it is often too dry, bitter, or mushy, but should not be considered "bad" in comparison to what others have to eat), I add hot sauce to help the taste and finish it. In Taiwan, at least, uneaten food is collected in compost and fed to pigs: here, it goes in the trash. 

When RY and I were little, we were taught to not waste food, and my nun aunt took it a step further and taught me the way the nuns do it--by filling a bowl with water after finishing eating, whatever residue is left turns into a form of soup. After drinking it, there is little to no waste at all. I gladly induct myself into the Clean Plate Club :)

Not taking things for granted is something people, especially people in America and other privileged countries, struggle with. What USA has labeled as the poverty line is considered inconceivably rich in other countries, and we constantly forget that. TIME magazine has published many articles disproving the correlation between happiness and GDP. So whenever you complain or think about complaining, think about whether or not it is something that you are taking for granted in the first place. 

"Maybe you do have the most to lose, but that's only because you've got the most." 
          --Margaret Houlihan, M*A*S*H

RL