Appreciate the privileges we enjoy
#10 - 11.22.20
Brother -
I want to talk about privilege - and how lucky we are. This isn't about gender, race, or the country you're from - but rather being a "knowledge worker" in an era where corporations continue to provide benefits far beyond what used to be the norm.
Previously, from a US perspective, the simple fact of a company providing good health insurance would have been enough to set them apart. Nowadays, this is an asterisk alongside a long list filled with free food, cell phones, generous vacations, paid parental leaves, and so much more. Unthinkable benefits compared to what our parents or many small business owners have available to them.
I'm at an age where my friends are starting to have kids. Most of them receive anywhere between 4-6 months paid paternal leave—a very generous benefit, which has become an expectation amongst a growing millennial group.
In contrast, Mom worked up until the day she had me.
Picture this - Mom's 5'2" and petite - gained an additional 60 lbs during her pregnancy with me. A wobbling miniature blob - she called her parents on a Friday while she was at work completely exhausted. How was she going to continue working while experiencing so much pain? I was still three weeks away from being due.
That next morning, I must've decided it was time to relieve Mom of her suffering - and her water broke. Dad helped her get in the car to drive us to the hospital - in which he took an infamous McDonalds drive-thru detour which he will never live down. His logic for needing energy for the long day ahead proved incorrect when I was born an hour after arriving at the hospital :) but that's not the point of this letter.
That following Monday, Dad had to request an hour off from work to pick us up from the hospital to drive us back home. They made ends meet by trading off watching the kids for the next period of their life. Dad was working during the day, and Mom was working nights - taking turns watching your other older brother and me.
Did they complain? Of course not. There were no paid leaves as this was just how things were. They were gracious for what was available to them and cherished the moment as this was a special time during their lives.
So what's the point of all of this? It's two-fold. First, be aware of how good we have it. Second, be grateful for it. In a world where income inequality continues to rise, you will continue to receive outsized benefits from the rest of the world. It will be easy for this to become an expectation amongst you and your fellow co-workers.
I often hear people complain about what they don't have - in a world where they already receive so much. Don't be that person.
Let me leave you with a quote and a question.
"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."
-Oprah Winfrey
Have you had an opportunity to help someone recently? How did it make you feel?
Enjoy the dance,
Nate