Trying to be Better in Trying Times
The world is a harsh place, and trying to change it for the better can often feel like too big a task for one person to take on.
I once heard an explanation for why time seems to go by faster the older one gets, and it has stuck with me ever since. I can’t remember where I heard it or who to attribute it to, but it goes something like this: when you’re young, let’s say five years old for example, one year seems like a long time, because one year is literally a fifth of your life. As you age, that number gets smaller and smaller, until you reach a point where one year is such a small fraction of the amount of time you’ve been alive that it feels like no time at all.
Obviously there are other factors, like the fact that people tend to take on more responsibility as they get older and the more things one has eating away at their time, the faster that time seems to speed past them. But even if it’s not the only reason, I can’t help but feel like there’s quite a bit of truth to the idea that the amount of time one spends on this planet plays an increasingly significant role in how quick that time feels to them.
Looking back, I can say that 2024 definitely went by a lot quicker than I expected it to; despite the many terrible, bizarre, and world-changing events that took place this year. Maybe that’s due to the fact that ever since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and all that came along with it — or arguably, ever since the election of Donald Trump in 2016 and the hysteria that followed — modern life has been such a continuous chain of crazy, unprecedented events that we’ve become somewhat desensitized to it all; but that’s only a partial explanation.
Regular readers of Thoughts Into Words have likely noticed that I put out far fewer pieces this year than I did in the first two years of writing this Substack. Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say that my personal life has been somewhat challenging lately, and my family and I have gone through many trials, changes, and unexpected events this year which caused me to struggle to find the time or the motivation to sit down and write.
That last statement isn’t an excuse for my lack of discipline, however. While the trials I’ve faced may have been genuine obstacles, it was up to me to figure out a way to overcome them, and on many levels I feel like I failed to do so. It’s also not an attempt to elicit sympathy. I may have faced some challenges this year, but who didn’t? There are many, many people in this world — ranging from those living in conflict zones such as Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Syria, etc., to the unfortunate people who are homeless and living on the street, to the people hit hardest by inflation who feel like they work their lives away just to barely get by, to the migrants who leave their homes in search of a better life only to be abused by dangerous criminal organizations and uncaring bureaucratic processes, and even to my own close family and friends who likely face problems I’m completely unaware of — who have had a much more challenging year than I have.
I try to think about this reality as often as I can. It helps to put my own problems into perspective, and to reveal how petty and miniscule they usually are. However, with all of that being said, I still find myself focusing on my own problems and letting the plight of those less fortunate than me fade into the background. The world is and always has been a harsh place, and trying to change it for the better can often feel like too big a task for one person to take on; especially when it’s such a struggle just to deal with the challenges one faces individually, regardless of how small they might be in the grand scheme of things.
This dilemma likely affects most people to some extent. I’m willing to bet that almost everyone wants a better world (though there are certainly some exceptions) but that can’t happen until we become better ourselves. That isn’t to say that each person on this planet needs to find some version of enlightenment in order for the world to become a better place, just that, as is often said, you can’t help others until you help yourself.
For the majority of people, the idea of bettering oneself likely means doing things like drinking less or eating healthier or exercising more — all of which are worthwhile goals, ones which I also intend to set for myself in the coming year — but there’s more that we can do.
I suggest that we also try to be kinder to and more patient with those around us, which will help us be kinder to and more patient with ourselves; that we be more caring about those who are less fortunate, which will help us to recognize how fortunate we truly are; that we be more aware of the suffering of others and the ways in which we as individuals as well as a society contribute to it, so that we can find ways to alleviate that suffering and prevent more of it from taking place in the future; and that we hold ourselves to a higher standard and not make excuses for our shortcomings, but to instead learn from them and use them as motivation to keep improving.
With any luck, each step we take as individuals can inch the world closer to becoming a better place.
It’s not my intention to come off as preachy or self-righteous, as I am in no way qualified to tell others how to live their lives or what they need to do to better themselves. I have just come to some self-realizations throughout the course of this year — and particularly over the last few months — and if even one person stands to benefit from me sharing them, then I feel like it’s worth it to put them out into the world.
Our time on this planet may be limited, and it will likely feel increasingly fleeting as the years go on, but the improvements we make within ourselves — no matter how small — will also improve the world as a whole. If each new generation can become better than the ones that preceded it, then I believe humanity stands a fair chance at eventually solving the many problems we now face.
I want to wish everyone reading this a happy New Year, and it is my sincerest hope that we can all do what needs to be done to become better people — whatever that may mean to you — so that we can start to pull this world back from the brink of disaster and help it become the wonderful, peaceful, and prosperous place that it’s meant to be.
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