A Kaleidoscope of Emotions: Guilt is only one in the ever-changing mindset

How do you feel at the moment? More specifically, is guilt on your mind? Our complex world has enabled us to effortlessly bounce between emotions and thoughts. This means one emotion can only be our mind for so long. We watch the disheartening news about a famine in Somalia where millions of people are dying of starvation, but we can effortlessly change the channel and get a laugh out of The Big Bang Theory.  Though globalization has drastically connected the globe (economically) like never before, we can retract into our own personal world by taking advantage of all the things the world offers us to occupy our time with.

My first thought about whether or not a person could constantly feel guilt was simple: “for sure!” I will always know, deep in my soul, that billions of people are far less fortunate that me. Thus, when I hear people say, “I really need a new phone,” I almost immediately think of the children on the World Vision commercials, who really need food, medicine - and love. However, until the thought strikes me, I do not feel guilt or any profound sorrow. Could it be true that the tragic reality which is always in the back of my mind, could be so easily covered up, hidden away by a kaleidoscope of emotions, chatter and daily occurrences? It can be true, and if it’s the reality for me, it is probably a reality for many others. We are fortunate enough to have plenty of things to do in our day: things that require our attention. The things we occupy our day with thus have the power to change our emotions and thoughts. For example, when a person chats on Facebook with a friend, they probably aren’t thinking about the effect of Myanmar’s military dictatorship on its people.  There is no reason for them to feel sorry for Myanmar until they actually are faced with the reality, be it in the news or in a conversation.

Just like the people of Omelas - who are busy singing and dancing, riding horses and marching in parades – we are busy studying, chatting, working and relaxing. As an end result, we are too pre-occupied to think about the world’s suffering, too busy to let the guilt (grief should be more like it) reign over our thoughts and sentiments. But wait; aren’t there people who are not too pre-occupied? People whose calling it is to think about the misery of millions? Mother Teresa did that! She wasn’t a school teacher constantly nattered at by children, too occupied to give alms to the poor. She was a woman of God who took the responsibility of caring for the untouchables. The guilt, grief and sorrow of other people’s suffering was her every concern. Though her emotions obviously shifted, she was immersed in a place where suffering was (and still is) extremely apparent. She could not escape it, not like you or I who are so distant and removed from that world. We can just play basketball or read poetry; this is not the case in a city like Calcutta. But Mother Teresa’s life is a special case.

The citizens of Omelas are a great comparison to modern North Americans. That child is hidden from them, but they know it exists, just like we know of the sweat shops that exist for the benefit of our wardrobe. Those people that make our clothes, grow our food and make our iPods are on the other side of the world. In the same way, if the billions of people in poverty lived like us, they’d need people on the other side of the world making consumer goods for them. We could not survive like that; for us to have all the modern luxuries that we do, they must go without. If they used as many resources as our society does, the earth could not sustain us all. So we ignore their suffering so that we can feel better about our fortunate lives. If we do not ignore them and reject that guilt (that we have it all, and they have nothing), we will be consumed by the injustice that life is.

Whether it is a conscious or subconscious decision to neglect the anguish of people around the world, by doing it we can free ourselves to live our life as we like. By this, I mean serving our own needs instead of helping those less-fortunate than us. But if we were surrounded and gripped by the sorrow that grips so many others, would we not be moved to do something for them instead of forgetting about it and moving on?