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The forecast called for rain today. The clouds were hanging over our heads threatening to spill down on us. It wasn’t a question of if it was going to rain, it was just a matter of when. Yet today, I saw someone use their sprinkler, drowning their lawn to the point where it flowed wastefully on to the pavement. At the time, I simply just thought.. Jesus, what a waste of water.

When I got home, I turned on the 11 o clock news, and somewhere in between the local news and the sports highlights, I learned that Kenya has not had a significant rainfall in two years. The images of the emaciated faces of children surrounded by flies and vultures circling around because of the certain imminence of death was eye opening. Not because I hadnt seen those images before—theyre everywhere, but it was because I remembered the sprinkler that was continuing on in the rain.

It made me think about the sheer overconsumption we all partake in in our everyday lives.. all the food we waste, the things we throw away, the things we buy but seldom ever use. I think we all from time to time think about how lucky we are as compared to billions of people who weren’t granted the same fortune. But I don’t think we really think about what we have coming at a cost to someone a world away.

The cost of driving our cars is constant war and upheaval in the Nigerian Delta, taking away people’s livelihood and right to safety. The cost of our 5 dollar shirts made in Indonesia takes away a childs right to go to school because they have to make ends meet. The cost of our overfilled grocery stores takes away from the agricultural supply shipped to third world countries.

We are lucky to be here. You dont have to try to change the world because realistically, youre probably not going to. Just take some time to appreciate what you do have and what others don’t. You have to start somewhere right?