Making The World A Better Place

If you could make the world a better place, how would you do so?

(This question comes in response to my posting “The Seven Deadly Sins”. One reader suggested I pose the question “How am I making the world better?” )

I felt compelled to answer this question not only because our world needs a little TLC, but because I think it is important to stop and think about how we can all contribute to making our world a better place. All sorts of issues arise here, but I believe making the world a better place begins with ourselves and extends out from there

So what would I do? I would continue to live my life as I do. Perhaps not perfectly, but with the good intention that my actions do contribute in some small way to the good in our world. I would continue to practice tolerance, kindness, compassion, empathy, and respect for all my fellow human beings. One cannot judge another until one knows where that persona has come from. All human beings are to be valued simply by virtue of the fact that they are human. Differences are to be respected and are what make our world a better place. I would try to educate those whose ignorance leaves them unable to practice those virtues mentioned above. I would pass out smiles freely. I would step less over the many homeless people I pass on the street and would instead more often meet their eyes. I would continue to practice random acts of kindness, not only because they give me pleasure, but because I think they give the receiver both pleasure and the idea to practice the idea themselves. I would hold myself accountable for my own actions, both good and bad, in hopes that by doing so others would follow. I would not hesitate to speak out against those things which I believe harm our society (ideas such as intolerance and disrespect, as well as larger issues such as violence and war). I would respect our earth and continue to do my very small part in reclaiming its greenness –not only by recycling, turn off my energy efficient lights etc. but by educating myself about what is happening to our planet. I would like to say that I would eradicate war, poverty, homelessness, genocides, disease and all other major afflictions occurring in our world today. But that is not the job of one person. No, making the world a better place starts with how we as individuals lead our lives and if we all choose to be kind, compassionate, respectful and value our fellow human beings the status of our world as it currently sits would increase tenfold.