The World is Better Now Than Ever in History, but I Bet You Don’t Believe It

Home Sweet Home. Earth is not as bad of a place as you might think. (Photo by NASA)

I often come across very intelligent people who are depressed about the state of the world. Recently, I heard someone speaking publicly who started out by saying: “As we all know, things in the world are getting worse…”

That is not true. As a matter of fact, for humanity, the world is better now than it has been in history. Read Joe Schlesinger’s excellent article for CBC News describing this.

There is significantly less violence and poverty in the world. People are better educated, better fed and less persecuted than in the past. The plagues of the past have be eliminated. Humans live significantly longer and healthier lives. This list goes on and is backed by numbers.

Of course, not everything is hunky dory. The world is full of very serious problems of that need to be addressed. But the situation of humanity is significantly better now than it has ever been. For much of human history, people lived short, hard lives.

Why Do We Think the World is So Messed Up?

We think the world is bad because we are told it is bad.

The news media pumps us full of negativity because that is what keeps us buying the products sold in the advertisements. Politicians want to keep you pumped full of fear to control you. The same is true for ideologies, which boil the world down into limited “us or them” visions.

The popular media feeds us a steady diet of apocalyptic movies and violent TV shows. When I worked for years as a news photographer, I never saw stylishly dressed crime scene investigators.

And that is the point: you are not given an accurate view of the world through TV, movies and the Internet. Part of it is the physical nature of these mediums, and part of it are the motivations of the people and institutions controlling them. Information is power. They want to control you.

Look at the World the Way It Is

Your personal reality is largely based upon what you believe. If you are paralyzed by fear of the present and dread for the future, you are not going be able to make a better life for yourself, your family or the world at large.

The point is not to have an overly rosy picture of the world; it is to have a balanced view. 

The world is both positive and negative. If you look at the world from only a negative point of view, you are not seeing the world as it is. You can not take correct action based on an incomplete picture.

More importantly, you can not create something positive if you are a vibrating mass of negative energy. Do you accomplish much when you are depressed and filled with anxiety?

This is why taking the time to strengthen your inner self is so important. If you are calm, peaceful and centered, negative information and energy is not overwhelming.  It can be viewed in it’s proper context and processed accordingly. Your energy is not drained away. You are not consumed by stress and anxiety.

Stress is your reaction to external influences that you do not like and anxiety is fear for the future. If you come from a place of calm, inner strength, stress and anxiety have much less effect on you.

What You Think, You Create

Inner strength comes from consistent practice and effort. Meditation is an excellent place to start. The payoff is huge. Instead of being mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually enslaved by negativity, you can move forward consciously and accomplish what you set out to do.

What you think, you create. If you focus your attention upon how horrible the world is, then the world is horrible. If you focus your attention on what you can accomplish in this world, then you can accomplish it.

Part of taking back control of your mind involves controlling what information goes into your mind. Do you really need to fill yourself with all of the graphic details of a horrible crime that you can do nothing to change? Do you really need to get outraged by the comments of your political opposition? Do you really need to listen to an enraged person rant endlessly?

I’ll give you a hint: You were not put on this planet to spend your entire life describing how bad it is.

Our Beliefs Limit Us

The Universe is infinite, yet we humans try to fit the Universe into a finite box. Be aware that your beliefs create your reality, but they are not an accurate description of reality. Humans are not perfect. So, neither are your beliefs about the Universe. They can’t be. Humans are a tiny part of the Universe. How can we possibly understand it all?

Simply consider the idea that your beliefs are only beliefs, not reality. They are not necessarily correct and you can let go of them if you choose. One of your purposes on this planet is to evolve. You can not evolve if you are holding on to ideas from when you were 2 years old, or 13 years old, or even yesterday.

The World is Better Because People Made it Better

Remember, now is the best time to be alive. Now is all that exists. There is no past and no future. You have unlimited potential in front of you. You can accomplish more than you imagine if you focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want.

The world is a better place now because people made it that way. They had ideas and then they took actions to make them reality.

If you want make the world better for yourself and others, you can do it. Do it from a place of inner strength and an open mind. See the world as it is. Allow the Universe to help you. It will.

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