One of the most important lessons I have learned from India is to be grateful for what I have. I, just as many Americans, am never satisfied. I am always looking for more – more money, nicer possessions, a better living space, more, more, more. As I sit mired in my unhappiness and lust for more, there are kids here in India who would love to have the very things that I am unhappy with.

Once every year, it seems, my family undertakes another round of renovations to our house – a kitchen update, a hot tub inside a gazebo in the backyard, bathroom updates, bedrooms updates, hallway updates. We are never satisfied with anything; we see our old surroundings as outdated and ugly. We can’t understand how anyone would be satisfied with this level of grotesqueness. We get mottled down in our constant need for improvement but what we don’t think about is that there are people that could not even dream to afford our house, let alone improve upon it. We should think about this. We should still engage in our renovations because we can, but we should remember not to get too frustrated for doing so is almost an insult. We should remember that what we see as ugly, outdated and unfit for living is not only perfectly acceptable in other parts of the world, it is a luxury.

Perhaps, this also confronts me with the largest social problem when communicating with someone else in a developing country. I have to censor myself for fear of being seen as gloating. What we take for granted in the United States is not given in India.

From a person who is constantly learning by observing his environment, this is what I have learned: be grateful.

– Christopher R. F. Lentrichia