Are we privileged?

I recently saw an interview where the interviewer asked a question about privilege and it got me thinking. So, I am turning the question to you to think about and the question is :-

“Do we as individuals see ourselves as privileged and whether that understanding makes any difference to our life?”

Now once you’ve done thinking about that, well, here is what I think (if you care to read on).

I think that all of us are privileged, to different degrees of course, but yet privileged. The fact that we are alive in itself is a privilege and I was reminded once again about this reality  when I read Malala Yousafzai’s book, ‘We are displaced’, where she shared stories of refugee girls and young women running from their homes for the sake of their lives. Privilege is also seen in the parents we have, our childhoods, the schools we went to, the friends we had, the access we had and the exposure we have to the world.

So, we can debate whether we are privileged or not, but, I believe we all are and that is my starting point.

When we accept our privilege instead of denying it, the next question is whether it makes a difference. Of course, it makes a difference to our life path and to the opportunities we get but does it make a difference to our own behaviour and thinking?

I personally think that if it doesn’t, it should.

I know a lot of people think that taking responsibility for something that we don’t really choose, like our family or their economic background, is foolhardy. But, I also think that we would be remiss to deny that our privilege, the things that we were born into, did give us a head start in certain areas than other who don’t have that particular privilege. So, we can choose to ignore the fact and pretend that we are where we are because of our own self or we can show gratefulness for that head start that was bestowed upon us and acknowledge it in our day to day lives.

What that acknowledgement looks like, is firstly, not taking things for granted.

When we realize that many of the things we have received, the love that our parents gave us, the ability to move our body, the ideas that were shared with us, the education that we received and many other such things were not because of anything that we have personally done, then we also understand that each and every one of those things is a gift given to us  and a gift that sits at the back of a closet gathering dust is a wasted gift. That puts the onus on us to use our gifts not only for our benefit but for the benefit of those around us, because, we did not choose this. This was chosen for us for reasons beyond our understanding and we would do well to give because we too have been given.

This also means that we don’t waste anything. We take care of our body because we have been given a healthy body. We sharpen our minds, because we have been given the ability to think. We work hard at whatever we do, because we have been given the opportunity to do it. Nothing goes to waste.

Acknowledging our privilege also means that we don’t judge others for where they are at in their journey. It is very easy to look around us and even in our thoughts judge others for where they haven’t reached and that kind of thinking changes when you realize exactly why they haven’t reached there and you have. This is when we can understand their stories, understand their circumstances and support them instead of making a prejudicial opinion about them in our mind. That’s where the true action part of not taking things for granted comes in, because in addition to not wasting our gift, we share our gift with others because the scarcity mentality has to become a thing of the past, in my opinion anyway.

So, what I am trying to say, in a long rambling way, is that, we have to reach the point where we are honest with ourselves about the extent our privilege and take up that responsibility to the extent we can to ensure that our privilege does impact the way we act and behave in our daily lives, not so much as a burden but more as a choice we make personally because as I always remind myself, “ With great power comes great responsibility”. This is the way I choose to live my life and I would, through this post, like to encourage you to at least think about it.