Those of us who live in relative prosperity often tend to dwell on the stresses and frustrations in our lives to the extent of ignoring–or forgetting–all the good things we enjoy which so many other people do not have. Recently Fei Fei sent me this brief essay which will hopefully remind many of us not only how good our lives are, but the responsibility we have towards those many people less fortunate than we are:

Let us not be stopped by that which divides us but look for that which unites us.

If we could reduce the worlds population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:

▸ 60 Asians
▸ 12 Europeans
▸ 5 US Americans and Canadians
▸ 8 Latin Americans
▸ 14 Africans
▸ 49 would be female
▸ 51 would be male
▸ 82 would be nonwhite
▸ 18 white
▸ 33 would be Christian
▸ 67 would be non-Christian
▸ 5 would control 32% of the entire worlds wealth, and all of them would be US citizens
▸ 80 would live in substandard housing
▸ 24 would not have any electricity (and of the 76% that do have electricity, most would only use it for light at night.)
▸ 67 would be unable to read
▸ only 1 would have a college education.
▸ 50 would be malnourished
▸ 1 would be dying of starvation
▸ 33 would be without access to a safe water supply
▸ 1 would have HIV
▸ 1 would be near death
▸ 2 would be near birth
▸ 7 people would have access to the Internet

If to take a look at the world from this condensed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes evident.

Think of it: if you woke up this morning with more health than sickness, you are luckier than the million that will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced a war, an imprisonment, an agony of tortures, or a famine, then you are luckier than 500 million people in this world.

If you are able to go to church, mosque or synagogue without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death, you are luckier than 3 billion persons in this world.

If there is a meal in your refrigerator, if you are dressed and have got shoes, if you have a bed and a roof above your head, you are better off than 75% of people in this world.

If you have a bank account, money in your purse and there is some trifle in your coin box, you belong to 8% of well-provided people in this world.

If you are reading this text, you do not belong to those 2 billion people which cannot read and ... you have your computer!

Perhaps we should all remember the following advice:

Work like you don't need money,

Love like you've never been hurt,

Dance like nobody's watching,

Sing like nobody's listening,

Be surprised, like you were born yesterday,

Tell the truth and you don't have to remember anything

Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

This is your World! And you are able to make changes! Hasten to do good works! Think of it!