By now everyone is familiar with the misadventure of the luxury cruise liner the Triumph which was stranded as sea without electricity or running water for five days. It recently returned to the US and the passengers disembarked in Alabama. Hopefully, they can put this sad experience behind them and move on.
As I was reading the news today I came upon an item that didn't really shock me: one of the passengers is suing Carnival Corp. In her lawsuit, she claims that she "suffered physical and emotional harm, including anxiety, nervousness and the loss of the enjoyment of life." Since litigation is America's number one hobby, I wasn't surprised by this one bit. I was, however, disappointed in the expression, "loss of the enjoyment of life" statement. This implied that the passenger forfeited her responsibility to make her own life enjoyable, to be accountable to make every minute count. In this day and age we outsource everything (except the Kardashians, unfortunately. Where could we outsource them to?), but to completely divest oneself of any effort to enjoy life is sad. Take a minute to enjoy the sunset, drink a nice wine, ballroom dance, learn another language. You don't need a cruise ship to enjoy life. I perfectly understand the passenger's frustration. Her experience, like that of everyone else on the boat was a harrowing one, but the cruise line only provided her with some options...she should have taken ownership for her own enjoyment.
It is funny and yet sad. In other areas of the world where there are power outages and no running water, people tend to complain less and yet find a way to make the best of their situation. Check out this wonderful website by Jessica Hilltout, a Belgian photographer, who has done amazing work in Africa. It is www.jessicahilltout.com.
She created AMEN, a project that focuses on grassroots football. She has pictures of children using trash and other materials to create soccer balls. The perspective is illuminating. Check it out.
On her website she writes, "AMEN remains true to finding beauty and joy where others may only see deprivation. AMEN, above all else, captures the strength of the human spirit." Wouldn't it be great if the passenger suing Carnival Corp had this attitude?
As I was reading the news today I came upon an item that didn't really shock me: one of the passengers is suing Carnival Corp. In her lawsuit, she claims that she "suffered physical and emotional harm, including anxiety, nervousness and the loss of the enjoyment of life." Since litigation is America's number one hobby, I wasn't surprised by this one bit. I was, however, disappointed in the expression, "loss of the enjoyment of life" statement. This implied that the passenger forfeited her responsibility to make her own life enjoyable, to be accountable to make every minute count. In this day and age we outsource everything (except the Kardashians, unfortunately. Where could we outsource them to?), but to completely divest oneself of any effort to enjoy life is sad. Take a minute to enjoy the sunset, drink a nice wine, ballroom dance, learn another language. You don't need a cruise ship to enjoy life. I perfectly understand the passenger's frustration. Her experience, like that of everyone else on the boat was a harrowing one, but the cruise line only provided her with some options...she should have taken ownership for her own enjoyment.
It is funny and yet sad. In other areas of the world where there are power outages and no running water, people tend to complain less and yet find a way to make the best of their situation. Check out this wonderful website by Jessica Hilltout, a Belgian photographer, who has done amazing work in Africa. It is www.jessicahilltout.com.
She created AMEN, a project that focuses on grassroots football. She has pictures of children using trash and other materials to create soccer balls. The perspective is illuminating. Check it out.
On her website she writes, "AMEN remains true to finding beauty and joy where others may only see deprivation. AMEN, above all else, captures the strength of the human spirit." Wouldn't it be great if the passenger suing Carnival Corp had this attitude?
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