Your reality, my reality--not the same

The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it.
- James Baldwin

Consider how you know about what is happening in the world outside of what you experience each day.

Do you learn about it from the television or newspapers? These media have a vested interest in making money, which means telling you about tragedies that will get your interest. They focus on tragedy and misfortune because that is what builds their viewership and readership.

This very situation causes you to have a perverted view of the world. You are bound to think that the world is a terrible place because you only learn about what is bad about it.

Do you learn about the world from what you hear from others talking about it? These people tend to take the worst of what they have read or seen on television as subjects for their conversations because they are so extreme. Only listening to these people will give you an even worse impression of what the world is about.

To get a clearer idea, consider the people who live in your neighbourhood. They aren't all bad, even if a few of them are. Apply that to every neighbourhood in the world. The ratio of good to bad people in the world is about the same in every part of the world.

The bad guys are few. We just hear more about them so we get the impression that the world is filled with them. It isn't. The world is filled mostly with good people like you and me.

Not many of us make the news.

Bill Allin
'Turning It Around: Causes and Cures for Today's Epidemic Social Problems,' working to put life in perspective for everyone.
Learn more at http://billallin.com/cgi/index.pl