The limited belief “it’s too good to be true,” essentially is denying the magnificence of God and creation. It’s denying everything that was orchestrated and created for you, the evolution of our species, and the evolution of all that is. Danny G.
Orchestrated For A Purpose
Everything we think, say and do has an impact on ourselves and others. We create our lives and influence others on their journey, by our mere existence and choices. Is anything random? Saying life is random or a coincidence is denying the magnificence of the universe and all its creation. Essentially, it’s saying creation has no meaningful purpose. Coincidence implies manifestation without purpose. When you look at the universe at large, and recognize all its beauty and perfection, can you honestly say it’s a mere coincidence? Do you want to believe that evolution and creation is random? Or do you want to believe in the universal spirit that orchestrated it all on your behalf? Do you want to believe God has complete control, or that evolution will carve its course? Always remember, he gave you control through your physical apparatus made ultimately for his glory. Danny G.
Life Requires Contrast to Create Evolution
We need contrast to create experience and evolution. We need a platform and a reference point to create our lives and change the world. Without a platform or reference point, there is no evolution and ultimately no journey. Without contrast, we cannot choose, and we cannot define who we are. Danny G.
Is the World Getting Worse or Better?
We hear about the pessimists who say the world is getting worse, our lives are deteriorating, and there’s much more cruelty in the world. Look at these facts and decide for yourself if you want to be the pessimist or the optimist.
There has been a significant decrease in global war and deaths from 1945 to 2011. From 1945 to 2011 the global death rate has declined from 22 per 100,000 to 0.3 per 100,000. There has been a tremendous decrease in poverty over the past couple centuries. In 1820, there was 1 billion people who lived in extreme poverty. As of 2015, there was 705 million people who lived in extreme poverty. Consider the fact that the population has increased by approximately 6 billion people since 1820, and the number of poverty cases still decreased. Since 1900, the global life expectancy has more than doubled. Our medicines have improved substantially and our overall medical system has upgraded significantly.
Overall, is the world getting worse or better? Do you want to be the pessimist who sees the worse in everything? Or do you want to be the optimist who says, the universe is always progressing and expanding for the ultimate well-being of humanity. The crucial factor is how we perceive it. Danny G.
The Progress of Evolution
It’s amazing how people tend to look at everything that’s going wrong in the world, and how far we need to go rather than noticing the much improved world of today as opposed to only a little while ago.
We still complain about the economy but truth is poverty has declined significantly. According to a study by Bourguignon, Morrison and World Bank Estimates (2002), there has been a significant drop in poverty over the past two centuries. According to the research, there was just under 1.1 billion people in the world in 1820, of which over 1 billion people lived in extreme poverty. Today we have over 7 billion inhabitants, and as of 2015, the number of extreme poverty cases decreased to 705 million people. Consider the fact that we have over 7 billion inhabitants in the world today and we had under 1.1 billion people in 1820 and the number of extreme poverty cases still decreased from 1 billion to 705 million. The number of people living in extreme poverty dropped by 137,000 since 1990.
People tend to see the worst in every situation, and I do agree that we must take action to create a better tomorrow, but being pessimistic about the world and the future, isn’t an accurate description of where we are today as opposed to just a little while ago.
Many people say there’s much more cruelty in the world, but they don’t consider the vast media sources of today. We have the internet, cable television and hundreds of channels as opposed to the few we had when the television was first created. Not to mention how many news channels we have, and what is broadcast on those news channels. We have all sorts of devices we use to check recent updates on the latest news. Not too long ago we depended mostly on word of mouth. What are we basing our information on when we say the world is worse off than it was?
Why do we feel the need to impose fear in order to cause global change? Do we need fear in order to take action to cause global change? If this fear is causing you to create a better world and ecosystem, then great, but if this fear is causing you to say “the world is deteriorating, or ending, in just a matter of time,” then is this better? You say it’s just reality, but is it? Do we have an account of everything that ever happened in the history of mankind? Now ask yourself, how much information do we have today on global news as opposed to a few decades ago? How much information are we bombarded with on a daily basis?
Of course after watching what the media is showing on television, I can agree that things do not look so good. I wonder what would happen if there was a news channel dedicated only for success and break throughs. Success in careers, breakthrough healing and recovery, or people gathering to support global peace.
I do agree that the news has these uplifting stories, however, how much do they have of uplifting stories and how much do they have of sobbing stories? I do agree that death is a part of life, and so is mourning, but when the news “only” depicts stories on death and worldwide disasters, it creates fear and a belief that the world is much worse than it actually is. We negate the much more considerable number of uplifting stories that would help us see the world through different lenses.
Consider the fact that there are many people who would go out of their way to help others, and that the beautiful things of this world are much more substantial than the chaos that would make the front page.
Consider equality and justice today as opposed to the 19th and 20th century. Consider the prejudice among the visible minorities and women in general just a few decades ago. Consider the fact that black men were not allowed playing professional ball, despite them being among the greatest ball players. Consider the integration of the visible minorities in many parts of the world. Consider the fact that women are freely able to vote today as opposed to the 19th century. Consider the slavery abolishment in many countries, and the substantial decrease in global war. According to Goldstein and Pinker (2016) global war has decreased significantly. From 1945 to 2011 the global death rate has declined from 22 per 100,000 to 0.3 per 100,000 primarily due to less conflict.
Our rights, laws and overall lives are constantly improving and evolving, but then we focus only on the prejudice and mistreatment which are far fewer than a few decades ago. Then we conclude the world is deteriorating and everything is getting worse.
I agree that the world needs to change and that there is still much work to be done to have peace among nations, but is the world getting worse?
We’re so focused on our preconceptions of the world deteriorating that we forget about the improvements and evolution that we so take for granted.
We’re not perfect and this world isn’t perfect, and unfortunately we must learn through trial and error, but the most important concept to remember is how far we’ve come, and how much we’ve grown.
References
Rozer, M. and Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2017)-“Global Extreme Poverty”. Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty/
Goldstein, J. S. and Pinker, S. (2016, April 15)-“The Decline of War and Violence”. Published online at BostonGlobe.com Retrieved from: https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/04/15/the-decline-war-and-violence/lxhtEplvppt0Bz9kPphzkL/story.html