[Lukias]

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...
you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of
imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation...
you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harrassment,
arrest, torture, or death...
you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a
roof overhead and a place to sleep...
you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change
in a dish somplace...
you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If your parents are still alive and married...
you are very rare.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are
truly thankful...
you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you can hold someone's hand, hug them or even touch them on
the shoulder...
you are blessed because you can offer God's healing touch.

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing
in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore,
you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that
cannot read at all.

[above]

Hey, you know what's sad. After reading this I'll still take things for granted.

[FaithInChaos]

...i was watching the news last night; and this church burned down, killing all the townspeople inside it. i cried a tear just for you.

oh wait that was a movie...hah

[Spitfire]

Yeah. Im a spoiled little (well..) fuck. Now kill me and give my Athlon to the poor.

[Chris]

/me trying to guess movie

umm...Either "The Patriot" or maybe the "First Knight" either?

[Lukias]

above - yeah so will I. Theres a few moments after reading something like this or having an experience which makes you *realise* how sweet we have it and you don't take things for granted. A few moments though and then your back to your same old self......sad but true.

[Bugscratch]

I think visiting other countries helps a lot to understand what you have. Even my visit to the US helped. We met and talked to a Florida resident near the beach in god I think Pensacola. He told us that he had walked several hours that day to a job interview, which unfortunately didn't get him the job, and that he's been doing that for six years now.
Any German would be sitting somewhere in a public place drinking beer and screaming at us what a fucked up society this is after six years.

-bugscratch

[Count Zero]

Sorry, but I am not going to spend my life being sorry for people who have it worse than I do.
Sure, every once in a while I feel sad for the fucked up, imperfect world we've created, but I am grateful that it never lasts... Call me cynical, but how would the lives of other people be better if I went around denying myself happiness on accord of other people's unhappiness. It's the same when a child's parent says "eat your vegetables because there are people out there starving to death". What the hell does eating vegetables accomplish? Giving money to charity is one thing, but guilt-tripping and moping is another.
I for one refuse to deny myself happiness just because someone else doesn't have the same advantages I have. Think about it; every time you feel a smile coming on, you would feel the need to repress it because there are people "out there" who aren't happy. Or every piece of sweet chocolate cake would make you feel guilty for eating something for pure pleasure, when "out there" people are dying of hunger.
I'm not saying to forget the misery in the world, just that don't let it get you down permanently... If you are able to make something out of your "privigiled" life, then so be it. "All the more from which to share from" is one way of looking at it.

------------------
COUNT ZERO INTERRUPT-
On receiving an interrupt,
decrement the counter to zero.

[Shadowman]

I think that everyone especialy during the Holidays should feel thankful for what they have. Thankful for there health and the health of there friends and family.
I don't think that anybody should sit around unhappy because the world is so screwd up just happy to be alive and well.

[Bugscratch]

Count Zero, it's not about denying yourself happiness....it's about being aware that there are people spending unhappy lives. This should make you aware just how good you have it, making you feel even better, being thankful for your priviliges.
And from time to time, you can donate money to charity or help someone else out who's in trouble.
It's just about not being ignorant of the fact that most of us are fucking rich people.

Oh yeah and I agree about the "eat your vegetables" thing. It doesn't help any poor people. It helps nobody. Actually in a way it would help those people to waste food. Because by wasting food imported from poorer countries you help those countries economies, which in turn helps the people there. But I do not live this idea

-bugscratch

[Silico]

I agree with Count Zero, i've felt sorry for a little bit, but then again they grew up the way they are and probably don't know much different. I'm sure they could be just as "happy" as we are, just in different ways. there's probably some rich bastard out there feeling sorry for how much middle-class are missing out on, while really he's wasting his time because hey, i'm happy and someone else feeling sorry for me will only make me feel like a pile of shit.

i don't know, i am aware of stuff, and i really do give thanks on holidays, but i don't ever moarn for someone less fortunate than me to the point where i bring myself down. just doesn't do anyone any good...

------------------
`~*Silico

[faustgfx]

why care if you don't have to?



------------------
sky high with a heartache of stone you never see me 'cos i'm always alone

[email protected] /
icq#35983387

[Duckman2]

Well unless any of us are philantropists, I don't even know why we are talking about this shit to eachother, we should be talking to rich people.

[kig]

narsistic hedonism all the way. you define your own happiness.

[Bradford]

Darwinism


------------------
:Bradford2D3D:

[DirtyDigger]

Having been to third world countries and all over asia and the pacific I have seen first hand little kids swimming in 'shit river' (a little river in the Philippines where they dump the sewage). I have seen people living in 'squaters' eating rice with ants crawling all over it. I have seen a lot of fucked up things in this world. I have also seen rich countries (lived in Japan for 2 years) and of course America, being American myself.

Do I feel sorry for them FUCK YEAH. There is no doubt. Do I mope around thinking about it all the time? FUCK NO! I do not even sit around and wallow in my happiness of how lucky I am. However one thing that it has changed in my life is that I no longer pass up opportunities presented before me. I no longer accept the fact that I am lucky to have a job and a place to live. I cast it all aside and run with the wind. I take huge risks. Why? because if you are sitting on your ass thinking of how lucky you are and you wish you could help you are wasting the opportunity that you do have. How stupid is that?

If you truly care about helping out others, help yourself out first by taking every opportunity presented to yu, whether that means reloacating and leaving your family or giving up your nice cozy job and taking a chance with a smaller start-up company with less stability but much more opportunity. You cannot help out others til you put yourself in a position where you can focus on it. Sure you can take the Mother Teresa approch, but I'm guessing Bill Gates could help out 100 times more people than she ever did.


------------------
"I Hear High Heels!" - DirtyDigger

[Chronic Beauty]

Life is a bitch then you die.

People with obvious problems have obvious worries.

People with hidden problems, have hidden worries.

We may not be tortured by lack of food or by a cival war, but the intelligent among us are tortured by knowledge and depression.

Both are soul destroying.