Think Your Life Is Cruel - Go Watch a Wildlife Documentary
Think Your Life Is Cruel - Go Watch a Wildlife Documentary
Nature is cruel to all animals. Humans have it easy. The only problem is that we can’t see it because we are focused on what is missing instead of what we have.
The other day, I wanted to watch some lovely wildlife documentaries with my four-year-old daughter. I have such fond memories of those. To my surprise, it didn’t go that well.
Bring on the nightmares
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but for an innocent little girl, they are positively traumatizing!
Whichever documentary I played, something was trying to kill, maim, dismember, or eat some other creature. My daughter kept getting shocked and asking me, “Daddy, why did that bird eat the fish? Why did the lion bite the other lion? What are these animals chasing the big one? Why is the crocodile eating this wombat? Why is the snake hugging that rodent so tightly?”
We tried at least ten different wildlife documentaries, but it never took long before someone was getting eaten again. I think we’ll postpone learning about the cruelty of nature for a while. I don’t need to hear screaming nightmares in my house.
My point is the following:
If you believe that we humans are the cruelest, most vile, and murderous creatures to walk this Earth, you don’t know what you’re talking about!
In about half an hour, we saw lions and crocodiles eating their young, their females, and neighbors and cannibalizing the offspring of their “competitors,” sometimes even their own. Countless animals were fighting for their lives, which they must do every minute of every day because danger is always lurking around the corner. Something is always trying to kill them. Not just “bambis,” smaller, younger predators, too.
Most of the animals shown to produce offspring, from crocodiles to cute little sea horses, were lucky to have grown into adulthood. The odds of any baby animal surviving to adulthood, not old age, mind you, ranged from 1 - 10%.
So, next time you think humans are so unbelievably cruel, just remember that we’re the angels on this Earth (in current form). Sure, we’re not without flaws, but damn nature is cruel. We have it easy - yes, you too!
Oh, and let’s not forget the religious among you. Who made the animals so bloodthirsty (and men)? Who made it so difficult to survive? Satan? I think not. It was dear old Dad - God himself - who devised this system. “You are all my children, and I love you. Now, fight to the death as I watch you suffer unimaginable pain! I promise at least 1% of you will get to have sex at least once in your life before you die an agonizing death!” If you think the Colosseum was cruel, think again.
Reality check
Next time you feel that your life is hard and cruel, you feel in danger and hate the unpredictability of your existence, please remember that no one, and I mean no other living organism on this planet, is safer than you, fellow human. None have a higher infant rate of survival. None have more comfort. None have it easier than us, apart from the mess inside our heads, which makes us feel otherwise.
Instead of dreading your fate, maybe feel some freaking gratitude you were born human, wherever that might have been. You are incredibly lucky, even if you’re in the middle of Africa, hunting with a spear, or in Antarctica, stealing food from Polar Bears! You’re the lucky one compared to just about any other species of animal on this planet. There might be exceptions, but they are incredibly rare, and chances are, we hunt them anyway.
Happiness or misery is all about perspective
It really is. It’s an inside job. If you compare yourself with the 1% of humans, you can quickly feel horrible about your own life. If you focus on what is missing, you feel like nothing is right.
Switch that perspective, and (if you’re reading this now) you’re most likely in the top 5% anyway. The top 5% among humans, not animals. You’re always in the 0.000001% of all life on this planet.
If God or a random ejaculator is spitting souls into the Earthly realm, you’ve won the freaking genetic lottery! Show some freaking gratitude!
So, maybe you should feel lucky and happy instead of miserable for not being able to live in a castle surrounded by naked service personnel, drive luxurious cars, have a million salivating followers, or whatever the hell your dream is. By the way, I hope it’s something more meaningful.
I know your life isn’t perfect. None of us have perfect lives.
What even is a perfect life?
Can you define it?
Will you know if you achieve it?
Will it ever be enough?
What if it already is?
Civilized society has its problems, to be sure, and life is never perfect. However, if you don’t have to fight for dear life every single day, aren't hungry for days straight because you have nothing to eat, your babies weren’t eaten by your lover, and all of your offspring survive into adulthood while having the basic needs taken care of, you have a lot to be grateful for. Sure, it could be better, but that’s always the case.
Refocus your attention
Here’s the catch, though. If you focus on the good, your life will feel ten times better. That is all that matters. If you call it perfect, despite it never really being perfect, it will only get better and better.
We all have things that we would sorely miss if they were one day taken from us. Let’s focus on those, shall we? Even the darkest of days will then be easier to handle.
Happiness is unironically a skill you can learn
It’s not a set of outside circumstances. You must learn to find happiness in the present moment, not the future. It can never come tomorrow. It will always only be here and now, or not at all.
Focus on the good, emphasize what you’re thankful for, and decide that what is contained in your life is good enough. I promise you that it makes all the difference.
There’s more good news. While circumstances and what happens to you are never under your complete control, your mind always is. Your happiness is a choice, and only you can make it.
Want to read more, or have you angered you enough already?
8 Problems You Complain About but You’re Lucky to Have
In a World of Darkness, Focus on The Light
How Our Core Beliefs Determine If We're Happy or Miserable?
Happiness and Circumstances - Does Your Situation Matter?
How Powerful Is Changing Your Perspective in Altering Your Feelings About a Situation?
Dear Daughter - Never Complain
Meditation on the Desert at Night - Is the Universe Agitated or Is It All in Your Mind?
On a Dark Day When All Seems Hopeless, Find Something Small to Look Forward to
It’s Easy Being an Optimist in Today's World
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I write nonfiction, covering topics such as self-improvement, meditation, philosophy, parenting, relationships, mastering the mind, and studying the nature of reality. I also write short fictional stories about space, aliens, death, and parallel universes. I’m sure you’ll find something for yourself.