# **BALANCE**

What is privilege? What does it really mean to be privileged? And why does it matter so much?

All I know is, that it seems to be quite a sensitive topic for many. Whereas some don’t even know that a word or “thing” known as “privilege” even exists, or maybe they simply choose to ignore it when the topic pops up?

How do you see it? How much privilege is “too much”? Yet, quite honestly, who are we to decide? How can we be so sure that we’re the perfect candidates to tell the difference between who’s got too much, who’s got less, and who’s got ABSOLUTELY NOTHING? I say a bit of bias works in everyone’s minds, some more and some less. So, it becomes quite a tough job really, not easy being the judge in such situations, about such sensitive matters.

What I really want to talk about, is that most of us are quite good with our imagination when making comments or jumping to conclusions. We all become quite the artist when it comes to making up scenarios in our heads. Really good at cooking up some creative scenes and thoughts in our minds about someone and how they live their lives. We don’t take much time to think, before putting a tag on someone. Whatever “truth” or type of scenario we’ve duped ourselves into believing at the get-go is what most of us decide to rely on. As if it’s all solid facts and we’re all like some type of an all-knowing, mind-reading mutant or Superman with X-ray vision.

Let’s take the common “privileged person” as an example, a guy you see driving around in a car that his father got him for his birthday surely seems to be quite privileged in our eyes, and maybe even a spoiled rich brat on top of that. What does he really lack in life? It seems that he’s got it all, everything is served on a silver platter. But most of it’s all materialistic, the love and value for such things fade away quickly, most of us know that. Yet, why don’t we ever talk about love? Family? Unity? Did you go to the extent of asking him about his personal life? The one he lives indoors, the one which very few have access to? We all can clearly see a guy “flexing” around with daddy’s money, having access to whatever one might need or want. Yet, do you truly know if that’s what the guy really wants? Does having a lot of money alone make you privileged?

It's possible he's industrious and has a large family, or his father just doesn't have the time for him. In spite of all their wealth, they still can't find the time to spend with one other. Even if the child is able to organize his schedule and is eager to spend time with his family, what if he isn't a top priority to them? A big house, yet empty, a luxurious dinner table in the middle, but there are not a lot of people present in the house when it’s dinner time, none to occupy this huge table with the many comfy chairs it has to offer.

So? What now? Do the child and his family fall into the category of being privileged? Or have the numbers gone down a bit on the “privilege meter”?

This topic has WAY too many questions and answers, way too many possibilities. A ton of numbers that my lazy brain doesn’t want to process anymore. All I can really say is that some of us see privilege in materialism, for some, it’s a proper 3 meals a day and a roof over their heads, for others it’s simply having access to electricity and clean water.

One simply can’t provide an explanation or the correct answer to all of this. I believe it’s something way beyond our powers and capabilities.

Yet, I do believe there’s something in our control, something that’s in charge of maintaining balance. It may be the universe, reality, fate, or whatever the hell we all believe in at this point in history. It’s all balanced through the different categories of our lives, yet sometimes it’s the same category, but it just takes place in a different phase of life I guess.