Comments on: Is The World Getting Better Or Worse?

By: Grace Kleppin

Grace Kleppin — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:17:05 +0000

Robin, I was prowling about in your archives and came across this post. How prescient you were--the stock market hadn't even started to tank yet! In many ways I believe our experience of life is self-fulfilling. The exact same events can happen to two people, and one takes it as a challenge and the other gives up. I hope that I'm in the second camp! G. Grace Kleppins last blog post..150 ways to be mindful in the next 24 hours

By: Tom Volkar / Delightful Work

Tom Volkar / Delightful Work — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:28:57 +0000

It depends on what you look at most of the time. Doesn't it? The world is getting so much better than it was. More of us used to be in survival mode and now so many of us are doing our own thing and earning a living just by being who we are. How could that not be better? Thanks for the nudge to be even more grateful than I was before I read this. I'd sing around your fire circle any time. Tom Volkar / Delightful Works last blog post..Wildness

By: Robin

Robin — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 04:03:28 +0000

@Ricardo – Hi there (fellow RB) – thanks for your insightful comment – I think you are quite right. (And thanks for helping to expand the optimistosphere!)
@Ari – thanks for your comments! Like I said on your blog – I think the technology advances of our times are exciting, and it feels right to me to embrace them.
I would not like to see us go without our technology. (I think that some groups without “advances” may have things we don’t have e.g. a richer oral culture – I think it’s fascinating how humans have such varied life-paths.)
@dcr – hi there and thanks for your comment! I think you are quite right – I think it’s interesting that we have a choice about our attitude to something.
@Simon – hi there! – thanks so much for your insights here – I totally agree with you. This is great!… “I don’t think there has ever been such a widespread genuine desire to ‘fix’ the world – and yet at the same time, so many people seem to be acting in such extreme negative ways.”

By: Simon

Simon — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:29:23 +0000

I agree about the polarization of things. I don’t think there has ever been such a widespread genuine desire to ‘fix’ the world – and yet at the same time, so many people seem to be acting in such extreme negative ways: sometimes even killing each other over arguments at the supermarket checkout! I tend to subscribe to the theory that such extreme behavior is due to stored negativity being released, just as the puss which is released when a boil is lanced is part of the healing process. This healing of humanity is vital now, given the precarious state of world, which is the main reason why I believe the healing will happen.

Simons last blog post..Is There Someone Standing Behind You?

By: dcr

dcr — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:18:39 +0000

Good post. In many ways, we live in the world of our own choosing. Much of our own life is determined not only by our choices, but also our thoughts and feelings toward it. And, while you may not always be able to change the physical world by wishing something to be so, you can always change your attitude toward it and towards others. dcrs last blog post..Success Saturday: Triskaidekapalooza

By: Ari Herzog

Ari Herzog — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:46:25 +0000

Adding to the above comments, my perception of your use of “the world” is actually “society,” and like the progression from calculating arithmetic from counting on fingers to balancing rocks to inventing an abacus to using electricity to invent a calculator, and everything getting smaller and faster in 50% the time for each iteration… how can this be a bad thing?

For detractors of progression and scientific change, I ask you if you prefer to live in rural Africa or Asia with no running water and squatting toilets? I visited such a village in China two years ago and I was amazed by their simple lives. For me, I’d be willing to live alongside them for some months but would get fed up real quick and want to take a shower without pouring buckets on my back.

Ari Herzogs last blog post..It’s OK to Laugh at Barack and John

By: Ricardo Bueno

Ricardo Bueno — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:22:09 +0000

The way I see it, there are people who think, “this is life. This is it. This is as good as it gets.” (A life of mediocrity). In fact, there might even be people who have a perception of you (whether they express it directly or not) that says you won’t amount to anything.
Well, we have two choices: 1.) let other peoples’ perception manifest itself into reality for you, -OR-, 2.) you can choose (because we all have the ability to choose) to make life what you say it will be.
Can you tell I’m an optimist? I want to make the world a better place by being all that I can be.

Ricardo Buenos last blog post..Be Consistently Interesting

By: Robin

Robin — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:35:26 +0000

@Lance – oh wondrous Lance – that’s great – I do think it’s possible to have influence on making things better – and the more people who feel that way, the easier it will be to influence things, I imagine.
@Vered – yeah – I’ve had some elderly relatives who thought “the world” was much better in the 1930s and 1940s – which was when they were young.
@Davina – thanks for the compliment! – I suppose the thing is that it’s subjective.
@Cath – yes I thought it was an interesting idea when I came across it. Thanks for your comment!
@Natural – hi Natural Wondrous Woman (NWW) – was a bit worried about you here till you replied to that email I just sent you – I know… Frank and I don’t watch any TV at all (I look at news on the internet), – it’s not always very pretty out there. (What does IMHO mean?)

By: Natural

Natural — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:34:25 +0000

I’m VERY discouraged by what I see going on in the world, under very little circumstances will I say it’s getting better. We have made some progress, but really, I can’t even watch the news like I used to and when I read the paper, I usually end up crying over some horrific story. The things people do, IMHO, is truly demonic! I don’t understand it…we all want peace, but life is of no value today. It means absolutely nothing!! I’m disgusted and I won’t type anymore because I’m getting upset just thinking about the debased things that happen.

Naturals last blog post..Paper or Plastic?

By: Cath Lawson

Cath Lawson — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:58:44 +0000

Hi Robin – This is a thought provoking post. I suppose when people are always expecting the bad – they usually find it.

It’s interesting that you mentioned that injustices we feel strongly about may be linked to our own experiences. I hadn’t thought about that before, but I will be.