By Stephanie Majinian

“Contemplation is a luxury.”

Existentialism and Human Emotions by Jean-Paul Sartre

People often forget how many blessings they are born with daily.

I even tend to forget how many things I should be thankful for. With the month of Thanksgiving rolling in, the thoughts of what we should be thankful for are beginning to circulate my mind.

An odd thing that we should be thankful for is contemplation.

Having the luxury of contemplation is a fortune that not many people think about.

I had never thought about it either until I started reading the book Existentialism and Human Emotions by Jean-Paul Sartre. The book is about Sartre’s views on existentialism, but his idea of how contemplation is a luxury stuck to me.

Not many people in the world have the option to choose between something.

Many people forget that they are lucky to be able to choose what kind of food they want to eat, what clothes they want to wear, and the way they want to look like on a daily basis.

There are people who are less lucky than me and many others around me.

We often forget that we have the chance to contemplate our choices.

Sartre was drafted to the French Army during World War II. He did not choose this.

He was later then captured and imprisoned by German troops. He wa a prisoner of war, and had no choice of this, either.

He spent his time writing, because he had no space and place to contemplate what he wanted to do.

Every day is a privilege, and many people, including myself, are blessed with the opportunity to be able to contemplate our easiest and most difficult choices.

We must learn to be grateful for each day that is given to us.