We all see those clips in commercials or movies of the 1950’s, and watch in black and white how people dance to jukebox music and smile while they drink Coke from a glass bottle, and we’ve all had that moment where we think to ourselves how simple life looked back then compared to now. Is life really that hard now? In the 1950’s, people didn’t have cable TV with over 300 channels, or the latest cell phone. Most people didn’t even have a dishwasher. With technology making our lives easier why are people getting more and more stressed? Or are people just making life more complicated than it has to be?
When my family and I went on a trip to Jamaica in January of 2010, I noticed that people were always smiling and laughing with one another at work, no matter the time of day or weather. While in Jamaica, a man working at the hotel said they go by the motto “ No problem, just situation.” These hotel employees made very little money a day at work, and most of them couldn’t afford the luxuries we can here in Canada. So shouldn’t they be the ones that are more stressed? It’s the mindset their culture portrays of being laid back, and having no problems. While the North American culture is constantly throwing commercials in our face about anxiety, depression and needing to fill our lives with temporary pleasures.
Life is not hard at all. Everyone in life goes through the same basic life events of growing up, going to school, getting a job, and dating. It’s the media around us that makes us believe that life is hard so we need their products to make it better. When you are having a stressful moment, just remind yourself that there are no problems, just situations.
