I think we are talking about two very different things here. I was talking about the bad aspects of life in general, nothing relating to a specific "them" who are the cause of all of life's troubles. I am speaking of sickness, of disaster, of war, of hunger, of poverty, theft, murder, etc. These are all parts of life and there is no "them" who have it within their power to stop the existence of these things. Sure, you can cure a disease or persuade world leaders to be friends rather than enemies, but sickness and war will always pop up somewhere.

My comment was related to the idea of these things taking over ones life, as often seems to be the case here. For fifteen years now people have been saying that tomorrow is the day. Everybody seems so scared of the bad guys.

Some believe that terrorists want us all dead. Others believe the government wants us all dead. I believe that as humans we have no exoskeletons and, as such, we are frightenly easy to kill. If somebody wants you dead, rest assured, you will be dead. No use thinking about this sort of thing every day any more than you should be worrying about getting hit by a car or struck by illness.

There is no cycle to be broken. Best case scenario everybody you have ever known or loved will be dead in a hundred years. Worst case scenario, you all die today. In both a biological and historical timeline, you were dealt a shit hand. You won't be here long. Enjoy yourself.

By all means, give to charity. Help in your community. Be a leader, not a follower. Rather than complaining about how your town does nothing about the litter in the streets, start picking it up yourself. Others will see you and they will follow your lead. If you see a homeless person every day, get to know them. Many are friendly and in need of compassion. Be an active member of your community and make sure that you can go to sleep every night confident that your community would miss you if you left.

This is how I live, though I am not perfect. I spend money on good food, on clothes I want, on travel, etc. A wholly ethical, compassionate person would deprive themselves of life's luxuries and devote all of the time and money they save towards helping those in need. I do not do this but I still try to do my part.

I pick up litter in my neighborhood. I get to know people. I patronize small businesses to help the, thrive. I tip well, always. I help the homeless when confronted with the opportunity. I donate time and money to charities, though not as much as I should. I help inspire children when given the opportunity. I gave my guitar to a little kid in the neighborhood some years ago because he was so fascinated by it. I may have changed the course of his life. Or maybe I just added a little bit of happiness to it. Either way, it made me feel good. I treat old people with dignity and respect. Many of them are my friends.

If your focus is on the geopolitical scene, there ain't much you can do to change it. You will do more good for the world if you devote your time to helping the people in need who you see every day.

The world needs people who are willing to sacrifice their quality of life to help others. I could easily make due with a home half the size of the one I have now, and I could use all that money to help animals who will otherwise be killed. Or to get homeless people off their feet. Or to get food to starving people throughout the world. But I don't.

If you really believe that you are willing to sacrifice to make the world a better place, you can start first thing in the morning. Everything from now on will be bare minimum. If you are thirsty and won't be home for another hour, you can't have a Snapple. You drink tap water. If you are tired but have more work to do, no coffee. That is $1 you can now donate to a charity. It doesn't take much money to feed a starving child for a year. You can afford to do it yourself even without sacrificing anything. If you are willing to reduce your quality of life to the bare minimum required to survive, you will be able to bring happiness into the lives of countless individuals.

Remember this next time a friend asks if you want to go out for a beer. There are people who haven't had water in three days and your friend wants you to spend $5 on a pint of something that is unnecessary. Donate the money to charity or save it up and buy some clothes for a homeless person in your area. Winter is here and many people without homes have to brave the cold. Some will die, as they do every year. You can't solve homelessness or clothe all of them by yourself but you can help some of them, and there's a lot to be said for that.