Well, When You Put It Like That . . .

Ever heard the phrase, "Your day could be worse"? I hate things like that. I'm sure we all do, but when taken apart and looked at point blank, we see the truth in a statement like this.

Let's discuss the hatred of the statement for a moment.

"Accidents happen." Okay, so WHY DID IT HAVE TO?
"Life's not fair." Yeah, but WHY NOT IN MY FAVOR?
"Your day could be worse." Sure, but IT COULD STAND TO BE A LOT BETTER!

Phrases like these are basically an eloquent way of adding insult to injury. So you've fallen from a high place, landed in a mess, and now you're broken and bleeding and a stinking pile of . . . something - someone walks up and says, "Well, I wouldn't have done that." Insult to injury, people. Not a pretty thing.

However, taken apart, like I said, and looked at, it can be seen that these are often true.

This morning I was reading a book which dealt with a young girl at the age of only ten. This particular girl had just buried both of her parents back in the 1700s in the family garden in Europe, both of them having died from the Black Plague. Soon after burying their decaying and disease-ridden corpses, she realizes that she has contracted the disease herself and crawls into her house to die.

Puts things in perspective, doesn't it?

It is a hard thing to consider, but no matter how hard your day is going, there is always a way it could get worse. That doesn't necessarily comfort you, but it should cushion the blow. I, for example, thought I was having a bad morning. There was something in the sole of my shoe that I couldn't get out, I didn't enjoy breakfast, and it was a chilly eight degrees outside.

Sitting down before class to read a few pages and discover how this poor girl's day was going, I decided I was alright.

We, as people in a mad and crazy world, rarely see this. I sure didn't until I compared myself to a peasant during the Black Plague.
So the toaster burns the toast. At least it didn't short-circuit and burn the house to the ground.
So you called the waiter, "Miss" by mistake. Thank goodness he didn't sue.
So you found out you have a broken leg. Fortunately it isn't a broken pelvis.

You catch my drift, I'm sure.

As bad as everything goes in your day, and as miserable as you think the world may be, there is likely someone, at this precise moment, having a worse one.

Stop feeling bad for yourself. Feel bad for him.