Today, I helped someone I care about upgrade their Bitcoin setup to a much more secure configuration. And man, that felt good. It is incredible to see the gap between what I’ve learned about Bitcoin and the understanding of those I’ve tried to help see the bright orange light. Not that I’m some all-knowing Bitcoin guru. Far from it. I’m just someone who has spent countless hours studying this one thing. But it got me thinking about how many areas of life I’m completely clueless in.
Take plumbing, for instance. If a plumber came to my house and fed me some totally bogus advice, I’d probably nod along, none the wiser. In fact, I recently had some exterminators over and got three wildly different assessments and quotes for the same problem. It was eye-opening. If you’re not an expert in a specific field, it’s almost impossible to discern what’s accurate and what’s nonsense. The same applies to the news. We’re bombarded with information, much of it blatantly wrong, but without expertise, it’s hard to filter fact from fiction. So many aspects of life are like this.
On another note, I read a chapter today about resource consumption. The author pointed out that while America makes up about 6% of the world’s population, we consume nearly 50% of its resources. Now, I can’t vouch for those exact numbers. I’m not an expert in energy or demographics. But for argument’s sake, it rings true. The point was that despite all this abundance, we’re not the happiest nation in the world.
That made me pause. If that number is evenly remotely true what an insane stat. You would think that kind of abundance would correlate with a happy populace, but that does not seem to be the case. To be fair reading these statistics made me realize just how much I take for granted myself. Having more than enough food, access to medicine when I need it, a car with gas in the tank, and even the laptop I’m typing this on right now are not things I thank God for everyday, but I should. The sheer privilege of an internet connection that lets me share this reflection is astounding. We are surrounded by so many blessings that are easy to overlook.
So let’s stop overlooking them. Gratitude isn’t just a feel-good buzzword. It’s a mindset shift that can genuinely make us happier. Take a moment to reflect on what you have, not what you lack.
Be thankful and watch how it changes your perspective for the better!
12/26/24
Conor Jay Chepenik
