There are few things as heartbreaking as trying to explain to a child why a person is sleeping on the street instead of at home in a warm bed, or why kids in other countries have to hide in bomb shelters.
Their sweet little hearts haven’t yet become inured to life’s many cruelties the way many adults have. And if you’ve questioned the things listed here, then neither has yours.
In fact, you may well be the type of person who chooses not to look away from terrible things, but wants to make the world a better place instead.
9 things you’ve probably considered if you genuinely want to make the world a better place:
1. How anyone who has experienced pain can inflict it upon another.
Just about all of us have looked at images on the news and been shocked by the horrors that humans are capable of inflicting upon one another.
Unfortunately, these cruelties are nothing new.
Anyone who has a basic awareness of history likely knows about ancient sacrifices, the Inquisition, the slave trade, and all the way through to contemporary conflicts.
And most of us know what pain feels like at this point, having experienced things like broken bones, bad burns, and a variety of other injuries and traumas.
So knowing what that pain feels like, how could anyone willingly inflict it upon another — human or animal — unless it was literally a zero alternative, life-or-death situation?
If you’ve ever sat with this question or felt your heart ache over it, that alone shows the kind of person you are.
2. How people took a veritable Eden and polluted it so horribly.
We live in a world that is naturally verdant and abundant. I’ve travelled through some of the most beautiful places imaginable, in several different countries, and marveled at the wild beauty around me.
And even the most remote woodland, lake, or mountain vista has been polluted with human detritus.
If you’re similarly heartbroken at how badly we have treated the Earth, you might be diligent about living as gently as possible, and doing what you can to counteract the ugliness in your own way.
Maybe you take part in river or woodland cleanups, removing garbage and replenishing indigenous species.
Perhaps you eat as ethically as possible within your means, eschew plastics for more natural materials when you can, donate to conservation charities, and do small kindnesses for wild creatures.
Whatever small action you take — in whatever ways are within your means — is a testament to the fact that you care enough to try.
3. Why the most corrupt individuals often end up in positions of power.
It’s ironic that the ones who are the most deserving of positions of real power rarely get them.
So many things that would improve the world’s woes will never be touched because those who do get into power are only interested in serving themselves and advancing their own agenda.
Sadder still is the fact that love of money really does seem to be the driving force behind their actions.
Quite often, fixing an issue will ultimately result in less profit being made. So of course it makes more sense to let things spiral steadily downwards, so long as they’re generating more money as they do so.
Considering this might sometimes feel like a dark hole of cynicism to you, but remember, it’s your compassion speaking. If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t notice the corruption.
4. The cruelties and lack of ethics related to various industrial practices.
Most life on this planet requires fresh water to survive, yet countless industries pour “forever chemicals” into fresh water sources.
And if you aren’t already aware of the cruelties associated with industrial farming (especially in the meat industry), researching them may give you nightmares forever.
There are better, more ethical ways to do everything, but those tend to be more expensive and labor-intensive than the cheaper, easier approaches.
Unfortunately, the latter have contributed to the state of the planet as we know it now. Individuals can do their best to counteract this damage with personal choices if it’s possible for them, but these actions are small drops in a terribly polluted pond.
Still, if these things trouble you, it’s because your conscience is awake to the plight of the world — and the world won’t shift in a better direction without that.
5. Why things like inequality, bigotry, and racism exist.
Many of us shake our heads in disbelief that any human being could be seen as “lesser” than another, or somehow undeserving of basic decency, because of their skin color, age, ability, gender, cultural background, sexual orientation, faith, and so on.
Yet so many people are mistreated horribly in various situations for no other reason than another’s prejudice towards them.
The suffering and pain that these individuals have experienced have been based on nothing but ignorance and cruelty.
We all have differences, yet we all love, think, and feel. There is far more to unite than divide us, and the world will only heal when we remember that.
6. Why billionaires don’t solve world hunger and homelessness.
If you ask the average person on the street what they would do if they were a billionaire, many of them would say that they’d help to solve issues like world hunger and homelessness.
The average person who has real compassion and ethics cannot conceive of what it must be like to hoard wealth selfishly instead of using it to do real good in the world.
It’s literally insane to consider that there are over 3,500 billionaires in the world, with a combined wealth of $20.1 trillion dollars. There are 1,000 billion dollars in a trillion.
With these people’s resources, they could eliminate hunger and poverty worldwide instead of sitting on wealth they’ll never spend in their lifetimes.
But they choose not to.
And you, like the other truly kind people on this planet, can’t understand how and why not.
7. What skills and abilities of yours can be used to help others.
Each of us has a wealth of gifts that can be used to benefit the greater good.
Some people are gifted musicians whose songs inspire those around them. Others, like an old friend of mine, are skilled carpenters.
When he isn’t working with architects to build cool, eco-friendly homes, he’s lending his skills to Habitat for Humanity to help house people in need.
If you’re the kind of person who wants to make the world a better place, you know that you can’t fix major world problems by yourself. But you also know that you have some skills that may be helpful to others, and you’re willing to offer them when you can.
8. How you can lessen the impact you leave on the planet.
Many of us have been deeply dismayed — even traumatized — by documentaries we’ve seen over the years that have shown us how humans have impacted life on the planet.
I’ll never forget seeing that plastic straw being pulled out of a turtle’s nostril, and regretting every time I had used one of them in the past.
For one reason or another, many people go through life without seriously considering the long-term ramifications of their actions, but if you’re here considering your impact, you’re not one of them.
Maybe, if you have the means, you’ve looked into electric cars instead of gas-powered ones, or perhaps you’ve simply chosen to walk or bike around when you can instead of driving.
You might have reusable cutlery in your bag, choose natural fabrics instead of synthetic fast fashion if you can, and/or are switching out some of your meat-based meals for plant-based ones.
Essentially, you question your choices and try to live as lightly as you can on the planet, within your means and capabilities, so you cause as little harm as possible.
9. Why real justice doesn’t seem to exist.
There are a lot of articles online about the discrepancies between sentences given to some people vs. others.
For example, women who defend themselves against the men who assault them end up in prison for decades, while the men who assault women either get paltry sentences or serve no time at all.
The same goes for how people in positions of power seem to evade justice for their actions, or how skin color can determine the punishment that’s meted out (if any).
For many people, it’s very difficult to come to terms with the fact that there doesn’t seem to be real justice in this world, and even more difficult to realize that there’s little that any of us can do about it short of pursuing a law degree or getting into politics.
Still, little doesn’t mean nothing. Even just acknowledging that injustice out loud, and doing what you can in your immediate sphere to ensure you don’t perpetuate it, is a step in the right direction.
Final thoughts…
The mere fact that you question things like the ones mentioned here, or are troubled by the subjects they revolve around, speaks volumes about what kind of a person you really are — namely one who sincerely wishes that you could heal the world.
You may not be able to fix everything on your own, and you may not have the means to make as many changes as you’d like, but lending your voice to issues that matter to you, and taking action to help when and where you can, makes much more of a difference than you realize.
