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why are people never happy?
i was talking to the woman that i work with today about her family, and she told me about her grandmother who used to live in the area of the czech republic which used to be germany.
she told me that her grandmother was forced out of her home by the russians, and she could only leave with what she could carry. she lost her home, her work, everything she knew. she then went to germany and could only work for a pittance on a farm. they fed her so little that her periods stopped as she was so underweight. she moved to bavaria afterwards as she heard there was work for a bed and 2 meals a day. this is hard, manual, life consuming labour. and this woman was no exception, thousands of people had to do exactly the same thing, and during this time the germans were also threatened by the russians who threw them out of their own homes. they were beaten, raped, killed, and actually feared for their lives.
now i know that was years ago, but if you think about it, it isn't that far back in the past, this is the end of the second world war. these days, 53 years later, our biggest problem is "the credit crunch", rising prices of living and immigrants "coming in and taking taxpayers money". these days, jobs are stressful, yes, but if you mess up you don't lose a finger or your life, you don't starve to death in england (well, very very rarely), problems like homelessness and poverty are lower than ever and you are not in constant fear for your own safety (unless you live in nottingham, so i've heard).
so this brings me to my question: are humans ever happy? will we always want more, will we always think the grass is greener? will we always be unhappy with what we have, which is safety, security, food whenever we want it and opportunities and the choice to do whatever we want with our lives? obviously england isn't perfect, and this is a big comparison, but when i hear about people constantly winging and moaning about the state of the country, and what a f**k up it is, i can't help but wonder if anyone is really grateful for what we do have, and if anyone is truly happy.