Always Somebody

The midges were out on my morning walk. I decided to avoid scratching which, as everybody knows, is not always the easiest task.

So I tried to reframe the situation, in a manner suggested by the Stoic philosophy, which contains a lot of very useful wisdom.

I brought to mind a terrible illness I’ve heard of, I can’t remember the name, where people are constantly losing their skin, and are in constant pain, to a lesser or great degree. I can’t possibly begin to imagine really, but as a result…

…my infuriating itches turned into:

- funny little tickles
- something that would pass by quickly
- a reminder of the wonder of being alive
- a sign of my luck and privilege

And here’s the easily ignored cliche. There is Always Somebody worse off than us. Somebody who would find our situation to be a pure delight or, at the very least, an improvement on their present situation.

Always.