The problem with opening your eyes to your wider surroundings is the immediate shock of being exposed to a whole other world that does not sit comfortably with our predisposition.
A recent holiday provided a well earned rest and some much needed sunshine, but the lack of TV channels meant that a great deal of time was spent on the BBC World Channel. It was facsinating to get a daily dose of what was happening outside of the bubble; poverty, war, famine, natural disaster and just generally a raft of stories that made me feel quite depressed about the world we live in.
We are so sheltered and almost immune to tradegy in the UK - it's so easy to bury your head in the sand and pretend that most of the world isn't less developed, less evolved and most importantly less democratic. It saddens me to think that I would be in prison or potentially even dead if I were have been born in another part of the world - it's just luck that I wasn't, nothing more, nothing less.
It's difficult to know how to feel about it or indeed know if there is anything at all that me as an individual could do about it; the injustice of the world we live in fills my stomach with a dull ache and consumes me with a sense of hopelessness. The reality is that life is not fair, everyone is dealt a random hand and there is nothing that we can do about it.
After a few days back in the bubble I am sure the dull ache will fade and my thoughts will be consumed by meaningless nonsense once again. My hope is that I remain aware of the bigger picture and keep my eyes wide open, keep things in perspective and be thankful for the hand that I was dealt.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Martin Luther King
