March 2019 - 9 Minute Read
I went on a Missionary trip to Jamaica. We built 3 houses for families in Riverton (Jamaica's Municipal dump*)*, and a kitchen + living room for a family of 10 living in a 15 x 15 sq foot house.
The trip was an enriching and wonderful experience, one that I will remember forever. I learned a few things that I thought would be worth sharing:
During my time in Riverton, one thing stood out to me*.*
Everyone was happy.
The air smelled like a combination of garbage, burned plastic, and smoke.
The 'houses' were shacks made up of 4 put together walls and a makeshift roof.
The water looked toxic and was the color of nuclear waste.
In first world countries, it would be equivalent living conditions to being homeless. Yet here they were, with a thriving community, happy and enjoying themselves. How could they have so much less, and be just as, if not happier?
It's due to relativity. Similar to how people want more money, and once they have more money they want even more money. In Riverton, they are thinking about the next step, which - from what they know - would be another Jamaican city. People in 1st world countries are also thinking about the next step, which would be making millions and owning a mansion.
Both are experiencing the same amount of dissatisfaction due to living conditions even though 3rd world living conditions are objectively worst. (Not saying that the living conditions don't need to change. Health and sanitary problems are bad, along with a whole other slew of problems. I'm just commenting on baseline happiness.)
Jamaicans living in Riverton don't know too much else other than Riverton, as it's where they've grown up and lived their entire lives.
Most of them do have flip phones or cheap smartphones, but for them seeing a picture of how living conditions are in other places, is equivalent to you looking at a 40 million dollar mansion right now. It doesn't appear as if it's reality, more of a Disney fairy-tale.
Once you grow up with 1st world living conditions such as Canada, going to a place like Riverton is a huge downgrade. Vs if someone from Riverton was to come to Canada, they would be extremely surprised and happy forever. This is the delta of happiness (will write about this at one point).