Very early this past Saturday morning, about 3 or 4:00 AM, I woke up and could not get back to sleep.
I kept wondering how I could help this world. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am tired of the death, destruction and decay I see all around me each day. Sure, it is not all pain, agony and misery, but it seems that we have more than we need. How to get rid of the excess?
JFK said, "Life itself is unfair.", and I accept that. What I don't accept, however, is that we can do nothing about it. I understand that natural disasters like Superstorm Sandy, earthquakes and other weather related phenomenon are going to happen. Isn't that enough without crazies like Lanza, the Swedish idiot that killed 70 something kids, Columbine, and the Boston Marathon bombings? I mean, if you like casualties, you have come to the right planet, and it needs no help. We are all floating on tectonic plates with molten magma underneath. If you want to see people die, there is disease and disaster all around. Can't you wait a week or two?
Ok, enough negativity. I am a firm believer in the positive. It works. So, help me think of ways to convince the *majority* of Homo Sapiens that we should work together to prevent what misery we can, so we can devote our energy to repairing the damage that we cannot prevent when it happens. I know that not everyone will get on board with this. I hope enough will that we can turn it around.
I must have stayed awake for two hours last Saturday thinking how I can make this a better place. I can make a little bit of difference by myself. I can promote education for those willing to accept it. I can lead by example by doing the right thing, even when nobody is looking, and there would be no reward even if it was noticed. Little things together, however, can have gigantic impact.
I remember when the population of the United States was about 200 Million, and my late father remarked that if you could get a penny from every man, woman and child, you would be wealthy. Now that we are pushing twice that number, imagine if every man, woman and child contributed a penny to a cause. They'd be flush with cash. I'm not soliciting money; I'm soliciting effort. Imagine if every citizen made the small effort to pick up one piece of trash, or better yet, decided to make the small effort to put in the right place to begin with? Imagine if everyone decided to open a door for an elderly person, or share a ride, or give some leftover food to a hungry person. What if we decided that we are all empowered to make changes for the common good? I believe that if we could create such a movement, it would grow, and all of us would benefit. I think the effect would be not just noticable, but something nobody could ignore.  I also believe that the effects would snowball, and turn enough minds and lives around that it would be contagious, in a good way.
What do you think? Am I crazy? Or is that a separate issue? :)