Blog Dis
The longest of faces
2024-04-16
Should you ever have occasion to travel to the country of India, I recommend you go to the biggest, noisiest, and most congested city in this monolithic country to get a taste of simple truth.
An observation I made while traveling through India was that its inhabitants, whether rich or poor, are more inclined to smile than frown, particularly in the morning. If you ask to take their picture, a long face will be presented to you. Indians don't care to smile for pictures. However, as soon as you indicate that you have no intentions of taking their picture, a monstrous smile will emerge. The camera lens doesn't illicit the same phony smile to which so many North Americans will offer when someone asks to snap their mug. We may be smiling on the outside, by virtue of our wealthy existence, in comparison to most Indians, but the fact is our bodies and posture tell a different inner story.
I've been fortunate enough to be able to walk to work for most of my professional working life, that is to say to live a walking lifestyle. And rarely do I see a smile on any one face, when I head out of my apartment on my way to work. And the legs of these professionals are either whipping down the street at breakneck speeds, and too busy to notice you or the exact opposite, they're shuffling at such a lazy pace, you'd think the very act of trudging into work is sapping the life blood out of these people. It always makes me recall my experiences in India. Despite the scale of poverty, the likes of which no one can truly comprehend unless having been there, every time your eyes connect with someone whose delicate living status is on display (by virtue of their tattered clothes, zero possessions, surviving by begging), they'll smile back at you. For context, imagine out of India's population 1.42 Billion, approximately 22 per cent, that is to say 270 million according to the World Bank Group, live in poverty. For added context, in the United States with a total population of 332 million (based on 2022 calendar year), approximately 11%, some 38 million people, live below the poverty line. Incidentally, that number of 38 million represents Canada's population, according to our 2022 census.
So when I traveled in India, for just under one month, I thought it an unusual phenomena, that many Indians were ready with a smile when encountering a foreigner. Indians will gladly speak to strangers and give alms to their fellow man as they wait at stops for the light to change. But not necessarily in the fat zones of North America. We've become desensitized to our cushy life, that we can barely bring ourselves to smile at strangers any more. I'm guilty too of keeping to myself, tho' I'll make an effort to engage people if I pop into into a grocery store or pharmacy.
Perhaps the cause of our stern expressions is having too much or not enough of time. It's a paltry excuse, I know. Yet, I'm trying to work up a reasonable defence for our sour pusses. And speaking of the puss, my late kitties wore a smile year round. If you look at the fur-faces of a cat from the side, they look like they have a permanent smile. I certainly see their point. Pets don't work, nor do pets worry about bills or taxes. Pets don't clean or rush out the door to be on time. Pets don't cope with sleepless nights or the demands of a bed partner or lack thereof, for those currently without. Yep. Pets have it made. Pets have reason to smile, that is once they manage to wake up and drag themselves to the water bowl for a sip, or munch down on some dry food, before their human slaves return at the end of the work day to care for them. It's different with humans, and apparently this depends on where we live.
Nowadays, what makes me smile is a dose of wit that comes to me from an unexpected corner. I love self-deprecating humour and I'll happily make a joke about myself if I say or do something stupid. I need to laugh. It also puts a smile on my face when I waste time by watching silly animal videos, and these are aplenty on the Uddernet, many of which I've bookmarked for later in the evening, after the work day has ended.
Whereas, Indians who've never traveled outside of their own country, their entire lives, regard all North Americans as millionaires. And ironically, most North Americans will tell you how hard it is to live in our countries, how food prices are sky-rocketing, how taxes are killing us, and how hard it is to get ahead, all of which are valid points. Inflation rates appear to be hovering at choke-levels. Just ask Uber drivers in the city where I live in Canada how pricey they find it to live in Canada, especially when compared to countries like India and the continent of Africa. I've traveled into North Africa too and I can attest to their cheaply-priced souvenirs and vendor food vs the cost of our products and food, much of which is imported into North America. I'd like to recommend, regardless, that if ever you get the opportunity, and you have time to spare, and the money, travel into India. Experience all that India has to offer. Experience the people, the food, the smells, the variety of animals and people all cohabitating together. When you return to North America, I guarantee that you'll never complain again, realizing how good we really have it; how amazing are our services like electricity; consistent, thanks to the stability of our power grids, our shared hydro plants, and our steady, clean water supply. The amount of space we have vs the name I had given to New Delhi after spending six days in this city - insanity in a toilet bowl. We're truly fortunate to have been born in North America, to pursue our dreams in what is considered the wealthiest continent on the planet.
I won't deny some obvious facts that our abundance in Canada, our standard of living on the whole isn't cheap, and this is echoed by newly arrived immigrants to our country. We pay some of the highest rates in the world to our wealthy Internet Service Providers, and I'm not even touching on the cost of buying a new house, a new car, or to pay for the gas for this new vehicle. The average cost to raise one child in North America to the age of 18 is roughly $322,000 for middle-income, two-income families, not even including the cost of higher education. We, in Canada, get what we pay for or rather we pay dearly for what we get.
It's glib for me to suggest that we all have much to smile about in North American, but for me this equates to living my life with minimal debt, never mind acquiring material creature-comforts. To be debt-free means to be happier, to have reason to smile more. Seems to me that our mounting debt is the true killer of our smiles.
An observation I made while traveling through India was that its inhabitants, whether rich or poor, are more inclined to smile than frown, particularly in the morning. If you ask to take their picture, a long face will be presented to you. Indians don't care to smile for pictures. However, as soon as you indicate that you have no intentions of taking their picture, a monstrous smile will emerge. The camera lens doesn't illicit the same phony smile to which so many North Americans will offer when someone asks to snap their mug. We may be smiling on the outside, by virtue of our wealthy existence, in comparison to most Indians, but the fact is our bodies and posture tell a different inner story.
I've been fortunate enough to be able to walk to work for most of my professional working life, that is to say to live a walking lifestyle. And rarely do I see a smile on any one face, when I head out of my apartment on my way to work. And the legs of these professionals are either whipping down the street at breakneck speeds, and too busy to notice you or the exact opposite, they're shuffling at such a lazy pace, you'd think the very act of trudging into work is sapping the life blood out of these people. It always makes me recall my experiences in India. Despite the scale of poverty, the likes of which no one can truly comprehend unless having been there, every time your eyes connect with someone whose delicate living status is on display (by virtue of their tattered clothes, zero possessions, surviving by begging), they'll smile back at you. For context, imagine out of India's population 1.42 Billion, approximately 22 per cent, that is to say 270 million according to the World Bank Group, live in poverty. For added context, in the United States with a total population of 332 million (based on 2022 calendar year), approximately 11%, some 38 million people, live below the poverty line. Incidentally, that number of 38 million represents Canada's population, according to our 2022 census.
So when I traveled in India, for just under one month, I thought it an unusual phenomena, that many Indians were ready with a smile when encountering a foreigner. Indians will gladly speak to strangers and give alms to their fellow man as they wait at stops for the light to change. But not necessarily in the fat zones of North America. We've become desensitized to our cushy life, that we can barely bring ourselves to smile at strangers any more. I'm guilty too of keeping to myself, tho' I'll make an effort to engage people if I pop into into a grocery store or pharmacy.
Perhaps the cause of our stern expressions is having too much or not enough of time. It's a paltry excuse, I know. Yet, I'm trying to work up a reasonable defence for our sour pusses. And speaking of the puss, my late kitties wore a smile year round. If you look at the fur-faces of a cat from the side, they look like they have a permanent smile. I certainly see their point. Pets don't work, nor do pets worry about bills or taxes. Pets don't clean or rush out the door to be on time. Pets don't cope with sleepless nights or the demands of a bed partner or lack thereof, for those currently without. Yep. Pets have it made. Pets have reason to smile, that is once they manage to wake up and drag themselves to the water bowl for a sip, or munch down on some dry food, before their human slaves return at the end of the work day to care for them. It's different with humans, and apparently this depends on where we live.
Nowadays, what makes me smile is a dose of wit that comes to me from an unexpected corner. I love self-deprecating humour and I'll happily make a joke about myself if I say or do something stupid. I need to laugh. It also puts a smile on my face when I waste time by watching silly animal videos, and these are aplenty on the Uddernet, many of which I've bookmarked for later in the evening, after the work day has ended.
Whereas, Indians who've never traveled outside of their own country, their entire lives, regard all North Americans as millionaires. And ironically, most North Americans will tell you how hard it is to live in our countries, how food prices are sky-rocketing, how taxes are killing us, and how hard it is to get ahead, all of which are valid points. Inflation rates appear to be hovering at choke-levels. Just ask Uber drivers in the city where I live in Canada how pricey they find it to live in Canada, especially when compared to countries like India and the continent of Africa. I've traveled into North Africa too and I can attest to their cheaply-priced souvenirs and vendor food vs the cost of our products and food, much of which is imported into North America. I'd like to recommend, regardless, that if ever you get the opportunity, and you have time to spare, and the money, travel into India. Experience all that India has to offer. Experience the people, the food, the smells, the variety of animals and people all cohabitating together. When you return to North America, I guarantee that you'll never complain again, realizing how good we really have it; how amazing are our services like electricity; consistent, thanks to the stability of our power grids, our shared hydro plants, and our steady, clean water supply. The amount of space we have vs the name I had given to New Delhi after spending six days in this city - insanity in a toilet bowl. We're truly fortunate to have been born in North America, to pursue our dreams in what is considered the wealthiest continent on the planet.
I won't deny some obvious facts that our abundance in Canada, our standard of living on the whole isn't cheap, and this is echoed by newly arrived immigrants to our country. We pay some of the highest rates in the world to our wealthy Internet Service Providers, and I'm not even touching on the cost of buying a new house, a new car, or to pay for the gas for this new vehicle. The average cost to raise one child in North America to the age of 18 is roughly $322,000 for middle-income, two-income families, not even including the cost of higher education. We, in Canada, get what we pay for or rather we pay dearly for what we get.
It's glib for me to suggest that we all have much to smile about in North American, but for me this equates to living my life with minimal debt, never mind acquiring material creature-comforts. To be debt-free means to be happier, to have reason to smile more. Seems to me that our mounting debt is the true killer of our smiles.
