Recently, a comprehensive report on the future state of the world was released : 2010 Revision of World Population Prospects is a set of predictions on population growth of humanity and certain aspects of living standards, developed based on the statistical indicators of world countries in 2010. For the first time, the United Nations threw their eyes up in 2100 to predict the future of humanity.

So, what will happen to us until the end of this age? Let’s see …

Number

7 billion in 2011 to 9 billion in 2050 to 10 billion in 2085. These are figures provided by UN estimates, which used different prediction models to predict the “load” that will carry human planet in the next few decades .

Sounds like a lot, especially since time seems to pass so quickly – you think that acoustic gonna be 2050 and will be a third more than we are.

There are also some good news? Sort of. rate of population growth has fallen sharply in the last 50 years and in all probability, will continue to decline. In other words, growth will be slower. Instead of a heavy string of numbers that justify this evolution, look at the animation below, which shows how the global population expected to increase.

There will obviously be differences between continents: Africa, for example, will reach 1 billion people, as is currently approx. 3.6 billion in 2100.

Ranking countries according to population size, will undergo changes, some predictable, others surprising.

The most populous countries in 2010 were: China (1,341,000 locuritori), India (1.225 million), U.S. (310 million).

What will the rankings in 2100, according to official estimates?

Place: India (estimated population: 1,551,000 inhabitants).

Second Place : China (941 million – remarkable decrease, but how good or bad will be to decrease the population of China, that only the future will show us).

And third place - surprise! - Could reach Nigeria, a country now ranks 7 but with a high fertility rate will reach, it is expected for a population of 730 million – as all the present population of Europe!

Older, more old …

As you may know, some countries – the developed ones – have already aging population, as a result of low fertility (fertility is, in this sense population, an index calculated by the number of live births and the number of women in the population) , coupled with longer life expectancy, in contrast , developing countries, where, typically, fertility is high, young populations, but with a lower life expectancy.

Overall, the trend is to increase life expectancy and the aging world population .

In 2010, 7.6% of world population was over 65 years.

In 2100, the percentage of elderly will reach 22%.

In developing countries, with rates higher fertility, life expectancy is on average 56 years (low); experts consider as the main cause of the phenomenon of HIV infection (and subsequent illness of AIDS). advances made in preventing the spread of disease , but also extend Treatment with antiretroviral drugs, provided that mortality due to HIV / AIDS will continue to decline . And mortality from other causes (malnutrition, infection with endemic tropical diseases, etc.) will regress, so that, as expected, life expectancy in these countries will reach an average of 69 years in 2045-2050 and 77 years in 2095-2100. (For comparison: in 2010, average life expectancy in Romania was, according to the minister of labor, 70 years for men and 77.1 years for women.)

Poverty

Currently, 48 of the UN world states are included among “the least developed countries”(Least Developed Countries – LDCs) – in other words, the poorest countries with the lowest living standards, most … Worse-off countries, yes, I know not a word “politically correct”, but describes, I think, more expressive dark picture of livelihoods of those countries than the definition of officialextreme poverty, prepared by Bank World in 2008: to live with less than $ 1.25 per day, per person.

LDC category was created in 1970, the first list, published in 1971 (list is reviewed every three years) were included 51 countries, which had the lowest values ​​of indicators of socioeconomic development.Most are in sub-Saharan Africa.

These countries suffer from extreme poverty, armed conflicts (civil wars, ethnic clashes frequently), corruption and political and social instability. Epidemics are rampant, people are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters.

Because countries can “bump” that are removed from the list when their situation improves socieconomică, exceeding a certain threshold. Discouraging is that, from 1971 until now, only three have managed to promote : Botswana in 1994, Cape Verde and Maldives in 2007 earlier this year.

So, the list is still long: 48 countries want and hope to leave, but still struggle in place of poverty, social and economic vulnerability, the deficiency in health and education programs.

However, the United Nations has bold plans: according to experts it, half of the 48 countries could overcome this status until 2020, if – well, that is, IF … - Will get better programs at national and international support. Development aid better targeted, more effective policies in exports, agricultural productivity and doubling the number of persons included in school curricula and strengthening democracy, are measures proposed by the UN expert group recently analyzed the situation.

Now, on paper it sounds great, but … We have no reason to believe that world poverty could diminish? Hope dies last, you know, but there are some facts, some concrete data on which to ENDORSE hopes?

Mouse successful there, although recent economic crisis has slowed progress considerably, as a whole. The good and bad, here are some data on the evolution of poverty and the fight going against it :

Number of people living below the poverty line (less than $ 1.25 per day) decreased between 1990 and 2005, from 1.8 to 1.4 billion.

The proportion of people living in extreme poverty in developing regions has also fallen from 46% to 27%. But (damn it!) 2008-2009 economic crisis has pushed millions into poverty again , rising food prices leading to severe deterioration of the situation for many of those at the margins of poverty.

Overall, even if these positive trends continue, it is estimated that in 2015, approx. 920 million people will still live below the poverty line .

Everything good is charged. UN experts say: the future, hundreds of millions of people (mostly from India and China) will come out of poverty, moving among the so-called middle class. And once you arrive there, they will improve their lives, will have higher standards, greater demands on comfort level, which will generate higher demand for products and services. On the one hand, it is good, on the other hand, must take into account environmental impact: it will be greater consumption of energy, water and raw materials and a larger amount of waste.

In 2050, food demand will be 75% higher than today.

Hunger

Although poverty has many serious consequences (in terms of education, health and others), however, its effect is invoked fastest hunger – that is hungry , when it stretches over time and space.

The sad thing is that after UN estimates, one third of the food produced worldwide is lost or is thrown away - more than one billion tons every year!

In developing countries, it’s rather the loss: the crops are stored in poor conditions, as they are attacked by pests, or perishable products (such as dairy products) are transported without refrigeration and it breaks … The solution would be to improve technology and infrastructure: construction of modern silos, equipped with refrigeration … but all these costs, so we need programs targeted at improving the capacity of food storage and transport. African Development Bank conducted such a program with a duration of seven years, to reduce by 3% loss of food in African countries. If all goes as planned, after seven years, the damage could be significantly reduced.

In contrast, in developed countries, the problem is quite different – here, mostly, it’s about food thrown away simply. Consumers have their share of responsibility, how about grocery chains … let alone: ​​hundreds of millions of tons of perfectly edible food every year to get bin, either because of restrictive regulations on expiration date, either because they lost somewhat ideal commercial aspect. Fruits and vegetables are often discarded for this reason.

And all this while, actually, lots of people not to eat.

Little children under 5 years are still suffering from hunger and undernourishment, a staggering extent, even if the mouse made progress. In 1990, approx. third of children under five were underweight in the world, today, the figure is about 26%.

Obviously, solutions and related financial sphere and politics, with that everyone agrees, but when it comes to the urgent problem of increasing agricultural production, the views are different. Some plants rely on genetically modified crops , blockbuster to solve the problem of hunger. Others say an opposite idea, very bold in the current context: that on the contrary, the so-called organic farming and to adopt some traditional methods that have proven effective over centuries, could be the solution to world hunger . Surprising experiments made ​​in different countries – China, Britain, India, Kenya, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras – have shown that old traditional practices such as fertilizer use manure and cultivation of several species on the same plot of land (in opposed to monoculture – growing huge Tarlale a single species, as is done today in modern agriculture) maintain better soil productivity over time and reduce pest attack. To see!

(In addition to fighting for food, will lead a more fierce battle for water , for ever-increasing water needs, and stocks can not keep up. It is true, and it wastes a lot of water. It seems that we need a new “culture of water” until you get to have one that the inhabitants of Arrakis, depicted in imaginary desert planet Dune , for people whose water, very little, was the most precious resource, the supreme value.)

Obesity …

In contrast, rich countries are facing a true epidemic of obesity , in addition, malnutrition strikes the surprising extent, and the citizens of these countries, because many of them eat much, but worse.Abuse often generate junk food nutritional deficiencies of vitamins and minerals, in addition, risk factors, those represented by high cholesterol, blood all increased, enlarged belly and she … And the prevalence of obesity is growing and growing …

… and other diseases booming

Disturbing and dark, one of the diseases that spread more widely known dementia - whether Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia – in conjunction with increasing life expectancy: these diseases are more common among the elderly. That is, everything is with shower and come back.

And still a disease that spreads rapidly in the world depression , which are found ever new forms. And modern lifestyle is itself associated with the development of specific diseases, real diseases the new times .

Well, die, yes why?

If contagious diseases have long been a major cause of death worldwide, non-communicable diseases and accidents in the future will become major cause of death, says World Health Organization. The same institution warns that auto accident rates will increase and deaths caused by smoking will exceed that number even those produced by HIV / AIDS. Even in Africa, whose countries have young populations, smoking, hypertension and high cholesterol levels in blood came to be among the top 10 health risk factors.

After the bleak vision of a humanity consisting of a lot of people malnourished and die young and as many more obese but malnourished and depressed or dementia, can we have some reason for optimism? It seems cynical and almost absurd even to mention the word optimism. And yet …

These figures are calculated and set not only know how to sit, but also to warn us, because each of us, knowing the current trends, may take measures to stay in power. Not necessarily to those grim statistics bold and new. Take care of yourself, eat and how to stay healthy, not making fun of resources and try to find reasons for joy in life, as long as you will be given to live. Health – physical and spiritual – all!

That kiss never was just a kiss, historically, and those doing it, when they actually make lip contact, are actually taking part in what truly is one of the most bizarre and unlikely of human activities imaginable, because, according to experts, it has nothing to do with sex..

Kissing, it appears, actually evolved from the ancient practice of human animals sniffing at one another, because that was how people learned things about one another in times past. It is thought that, maybe at some point, humans sniffing each other out slipped and ended up touching lips.

Vaughn Bryant, Texas A&M University anthropologist and an authority on how human kissing evolved, pointed out that during early human history, relationships depended on smell, used to determine mood, health and social status of the person being greeted.

Sniff greetings were commonplace, those involved brushing noses across faces, sniffing at the scent glands, which over time became a brushing of the lips, the way in which this form of social greeting came about.

The Indian sub-continent is where kissing became seen as a romantic form of expression, around 1000BC, when epic poem the Mahabharata included the  first descriptions of romantic kissing on record. It is thought that romantic kissing was unknown elsewhere in the world at that time,

For the Greeks, kissing was how men communicated status, rank, and loyalty among themselves, an expression of social hierarchy, in a way. Lip contact is mentioned, as a form of supplication, not romance, in Homer’s Odyssey.  Where social equals would kiss the mouth, servants, and slaves kissed cheeks, hands, feet, or even the hem of the robe, a practice that continued into the 18th century.

What Romans called the soul kiss is today referred to as the French kiss, though Emperor Tiberius did attempt to ban kissing in case it was a way of spreading leprosy, but his Roman people ignored him. Oddly enough, early Christians were anti-kissing and several popes tried over the years to ban romantic kissing, Pope Clement V decreeing that kissing done with the intent to fornicate was to be considered a mortal sin In 1312.

It was European missionaries who introduced kissing, in the 19th century, to Africa, Asia and Oceania, as well as the word of God to many indigenous populations. The Japanese thought kissing to be offensive and film scenes in which it featured were carefully deleted from movies shown after WWII in occupied Japan.

It is clear from historical data that, in terms of human evolution, the kiss is a relatively new phenomenon, never originally intended to be a conveyor of emotion. Whatever the reasons for it actually coming into being, the kiss never really was just a kiss, but the meanings to it have been so many and varied that it has blurred somewhat over time, but is still nonetheless a great experience when there is passion behind it.

We must define environment a little differently when dealing with human beings. A human environment may be real, or unreal because of the mind’s capability to generate circumstances, which are facts, but not truths. They are simply instances in time. What is now won’t exist tomorrow! This tells us many things of humanity are illusions created by other human beings. “No person is capable to be king over others.” Their actuality cannot exist forever. Facts, in a state of change, are not a truth, but human existence is consistently in a state of flux, is a truth. The human brain is like a computer, if you put junk in, you will get junk out. A person’s mentality is defined by many factors. Human thoughts are full of his own make believe along with the false notions of those he or she interacts with. This defines a culture. In cases, wishful thinking determines one’s path, but reality rarely enters in his or her mind except when necessary.
Reality and Society are two different things. Society is people in movements, thoughts, and relations with each other within The Creator’s creation. I am using the term “people” loosely. There are prerequisites the human being needs to meet before he or she can qualify as “people.” The real part of the man-beast is his movements, which shows their thinking is not of awareness. “Human tracks” are the facts or the evidence left behind. The lag in the learning curve places man in the future before he has mastered his past. The atmosphere’s high CO2 concentration is merely one track of the humans physical existence. Like all animals – human movements revolve around their environment.

            Injustice foments and revolution is imminent. The series of protests and demonstrations collectively known as the “Arab Spring” or “Arab Awakening” was predetermined. The oppression of dictators and unyielding governments seemed inescapable, and slowly but surely the populace accepted their predicament and yielded to their social and economic erosion. However, as the years progressed three factors gave hope for renewal and prompted this enlightened revolution of today. The dawn of the new millennium saw a rapid increase in Arab literacy, a falling birthrate, and a significant decline in the widespread custom of endogamy, or marriage between first cousins. This shows that Arab societies were on a path toward mental and cultural modernization in the course that the individual became more important than an autonomous entity.  The transformation of the political system, the spreading wave of democratization and the conversion of subjects into citizens are the products of this liberal movement, and the ensuing revolution was well under way.

            As the people became more educated and informed they became less complacent and unrest soon sat heavy on the shoulders of each nation. Though progressive reformists sought a national enlightenment, the political injustices and crimes of range of tyrants continued.  As a result, a decrease of nationalism and an increase in emigration sent up a red flag to the Western world. A new class of Western Arabs was born, and in due time, their homeland economies diminished further. Governments had begun to sense this growing unrest and they attempted to placate the poor and unemployed with bread and money but it was too late; the time for change had come.

            First went Tunisia, then Algeria. These leading cases of insurrection prompted the tidal wave of change, and the revolts of December 2010 shattered the dams holding them back. With the success of the protests in Tunisia, this wave of unrest sparked by the self-immolation of a Tunisian man struck Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, and Yemen and then spread to other countries. The largest, most organized demonstrations have often occurred on “days of rage”, usually after Friday afternoon prayers. Demonstrations of epic proportions shook the Middle East, and the governments of Tunisia, Egypt, and then Libya were overthrown. These uprisings took many lives, signifying the relentless determination of the people. Even some of the better off nations, like Lebanon and Morocco sought reform and an end to corruption. The geopolitical implications of these protests have drawn global attention, prompting further protests in Europe and Asia. Even the “occupy” movements were influenced by the Egyptian revolution. This tidal wave of change had far reaching repercussions which, in hindsight, was the result of decades of injustice with little to no change.

            King was right; change is inevitable. It only took a Tunisian spark to ignite people’s suppression and it all went up in flames. The Civil Rights movement of the 50’s and 60’s shared the same principles and desires of the Arab Spring; conformation is eventually succeeded by unrest and revolution. Voters are taking part in free and fair elections, newly elected lawmakers are issuing progressive legislation, and the morale is generally high in these post dictatorial nations. Though much work is left in the name of transition, the Spring was a success and it will surely influence multitudes of revolutions to come.

Image via Wikipedia

ORDINARY PEOPLE

This world is filled with ordinary people,

yet each unique in their own way

just doing those common, ordinary things

in living their life each day…

Dealing with each day as it comes,

each joy or trouble they may face,

facing it with hope and faith

and in their ordinary ways;

living their life best they know how

and doing it with grace.

They’re just ordinary people

that we may chance to meet

as we go about our own life

at work, at play or on the street

or maybe in the shopping mall;

they may just nod or talk awhile,

share some friendly greeting

or maybe just a smile…

There is something unique about them

that gives your heart a lift,

lightens the gray, maybe in your day

like an unexpected gift.

They are just ordinary people,

no different from you and me

who share a bit of sunshine

for all the world to see,

through a smile, some simple kindness

that brightens up your day

as they go about their daily life

in their ordinary way.

It could be that the hype about man-made global warming faces an unwelcome challenge, because new temperature data just released has of shown that the planet has not warmed for the past 15 years, in point of fact.

The published figures, some climatologists say, suggest that the planet could even be heading for a mini ice-age. the last time this affected the UK, in the 17th century, there were frost fairs held on the frozen river  Thames in London.

The claims are based on readings taken from over 30,000 measuring stations, issued without fuss by the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit and the Met Office, confirming that the rising trend in world temperatures ended in 1997, bucking the supposed trends of the past decades..

Leading climate scientists said that, after giving off, during the 20th century, unusually high levels of energy, our star is now on course for a grand minimum in output. This turn of events would threaten much colder summers, truly bitter winters and a marked shortening of the growing season for crops.

It is widely known that solar output cycles through an 11-year pattern, high numbers of sunspots recorded when the cycles peak, which – in the guise of Cycle 24 – is why the latest solar storm resulted in the aurora borealis being seen further south. Numbers of sunspots, however, are down 50% on 20th Century cycle peaks.

NASA and the University of Arizona analysts believe that  magnetic-field measurements from beneath the sun’s surface suggest that Cycle 25, due to peak in 2022, will be a great deal weaker, so that this and future such events be as weak as, or even weaker than, the  so-called Dalton minimum.

In that 30-year period, average temperatures in parts of Europe fell by 2C, though if the new solar energy slump were as deep as that which occurred between 1645 and 1715, many European rivers could quite conceivably freeze solid.

The Met Office however think that the impact of the sun on climate is far less than man-made carbon dioxide, and even if the sun output decreases until 2100, only a reduction in global temperatures of 0.08C would result, the reduction of solar activity levels insufficient to offset the dominant influence of greenhouse gases. As long as the greenhouse effect continues to have the same effect on the atmosphere, many climate scientists do not believe that such a big freeze is ever likely to happen.

Think about it for a moment. A man comes equipped with the tools that make him a man – sexual organs, musculature, hormones, and psychological stability. The woman likewise – sexual organs such that the only way to have intercourse is with a dildo or a finger, making her different from the man, but not really that different from another arbitrary woman. Save for a few unique instances, the female reproductive (or sexual) system comes with a womb, which comes with a mammary gland, and then hormones that do a great deal to affect the way she thinks. Point is, she “inherently” isn’t equipped to think in precisely the same way that a man does – because it’s actually designed to be more subjective (to hormones and resulting emotions and impulses).

These “tools” of feminity aren’t actually a disadvantage, and this is no suggestion that they are. What they are is tools which enable and empower the woman to do what she is designed to do – be a mother and a wife! The pain and sadness comes when she tries to resist that nature and become something she isn’t meant to do, like put on the pants in a marriage or relationship; maintain a corporate career contrary to the wishes of her husband; keep her last name because she wants to maintain her individuality, rather than allow herself to be fully absorbed and incorporated into her husband and home; compete with the man on the corporate and political front… – this really could go on.

The man is not exempt from this reality either. In ceasing/failing to live up to his portion of the deal, he creates a vacuum that has to be filled, which ultimately results in an imbalance that can only be offset if and when he steps bac up to do his own part. The ultimate result of his failure is the woman having to step up to do something she was never meant to do… kind of like an apple stepping up and trying to fill the space created by pineapples refusing to grow up and mature. It’s never a pretty sight. Crime rates go up, divorce rates go up, quality of life drops drastically

Humanity has suffered from the fact that round pegs keep trying to fit into square holes, and today we have female emancipation, the independent woman syndrome, etc., all of which have evolved into angry, selfish, and half-baked adults, raised by single parents because men have now failed to live up to their expectations as men, and women have grown into being self-sufficient and unsubmissive… It really gets no more simple than that.

There is more as well. The single mothers that are on “government cheese” because they can’t afford to take care of a child on their own or were forced not to get an abortion. You would be surprised how many single mothers I know that loathe or resent their children. Once again that is one of the many reason I am for abortion. A child deserves a loving parent or parent(s) and if that can’t be given than the woman should have the choice to abort.

Anyway, I have more views coming but this is what I have for now. And it is a mess of thoughts mainly because I was typing it as I was thinking it. More of my views on things are coming soon…

When thinking of all of those political science theories on how the State was developed, a lot of the earlier thinkers believed that “man was always in a state of war with man.” People only formed communities because there was a strength in numbers. There was the convenience of having another person around to help protect mutual interests. There was the peace of mind that the laws governing man would protect him from others – laws created to tell man what he cannot do without facing punishment. Good will is not written in the base nature of the human race – not really anyway. 

These are the words of a misanthrope who spent all of life trying to be liked and to stand amongst those whom society admires: the men who stand within the upper tier of society with regards to success, wealth, and intelligence. This is a person who has spent life focusing on what other people think, what unintentional words may slip from the mouths of “friends” and “family”, and the overall sense of worthlessness instilled by those with the duty to nurture. These circumstances beget a person who has no place in the glittering society of men of higher learning and can imagine no place to exist elsewhere.

Lets start with the misanthrope’s earliest memory. He is thirteen and among friends. He is then surrounded by a group of older boys who demand his pride, recognition, and self-respect. His friends shrink away to the corner of the street and wait for the scene to be over. Thirty long minutes pass and not a single adult or passerby-er intervenes. It’s as if they were invisible, as if the situation was too ugly to acknowledge so it’d be best to let it take its course and disappear on its own. The boy goes home afraid, ashamed, and alone.

Lets end with the knowledge that twelve years have long since passed and his view of people is colored by negativity and by ugliness. The society that he had willingly subjected himself to for the past twelve years was ugly. It made him ugly. It makes everything he sees so ugly. It makes everything he hears sound like lies. It makes him want to crawl out of his skin from self-disgust and from being tainted by this way of thinking and for living with this idea as the ultimate truth. To him, there is no where to go. To him, there is only silence. To him, numbness is salvation and a fleeting form of happiness.

Original painting by author

When we realize that whatever we have been through in the past has helped us to become the person that we are and that, because of it, we are able to help others either through similar situations or to avoid the same pitfalls, we have a clear 20/20 vision of the important and enlightening role that a tragedy, disease or abusive background can give.

In this way we can come to terms with and be at peace with it, since we can put it a larger perspective.  We can do this because we can see how everything is interwoven, we can see the linear progression, and how we would not have become the same person without these events.  This is by no means meant to excuse the actions or to endorse them, but to show that we are greater than what has happened to us and we can use these events to inspire good to come from them.

“I don’t want my past to become anyone else’s future.”  - Elie Wiesel

We can come to see these events as a training ground or a boot camp for our life purpose, and how without them we may have taken a different avenue altogether, which may have been happy, but nowhere near as rewarding as taking horror,  injustice, disease or pain and making a dent in it, thus improving the lives of all.  We can see the events as catalysts.

Not so with events happening in the present.  We are not graced, in most circumstances, with the foresight of how we will turn the lead of current events into gold to improve the lives of ourselves and others.  Chances are, we are too caught up in the pain, trauma, or at least the drama of the situation to be able to see past the hurt it is causing us or those around us.  Shakespeare has said:

 “For there was never yet philosopher

That could endure the toothache patiently,

However they have writ the style of gods,

And made a push at chance and sufferance..”

For me, privacy and other rights are holy, so when oppressors of all kinds from the government, to any employers who would do such a thing, to those posing as friends to people violate it, I am highly affected.  If I were indifferent to it, it would not torture me as badly, thrusting me into a pose to defend rights and what is legally called “the expectation of privacy.”  I would choose to take these experiences and to become a light in the darkness.  I have attempted to perform this alchemy with anything which has happened in my life, but it has always been far easier to do in retrospect, preferably after I have had time to heal and to put the past behind me.

So, the question becomes, in the clutches of the madness of events that bring out our worst fears, anger and feelings of betrayal or at least disappointment, how can we hold onto that overall perspective best gained by hindsight and analysis? 

Most religions would point out that faith and trust bridge this gap.  They would say that one has to believe in a greater purpose or a hand behind events that leads toward the greater good, or plan.

Humanistic philosophies would state that this is where you completely accept, without reservation, and have respect for the fact that things are what they are, that A is A, as Aristotle would say.  To evade is the only way the evil is empowered.

A mystic would say both.  When you get right down to it, what is literally is all that there is.  They would also say that within each tragedy lies the seed for its cure.   Within the very venom of the snake the antidote lays waiting to be discovered.   Those who can see clearly can discover the antidote and use it to help themselves and others.  Those who cannot see past the pain of the poison can help no one, including themselves.

Again, this does not mean that you excuse the action, the betrayal or the lack of ethics that is occurring.  It means that you do not hold anything, including your wishes of how things could be or your estimation of how things should be, above the fact of what actually is.  It means that you feel grateful for what you do have, and do everything you can to preserve and protect your values.

Merely having this insight can take some of the sting out of the events, since it is no longer seen on a personal level.  Suddenly the person behind the betrayal or abuse is merely a messenger or trainer or agent, and once the lesson is learned we can move on.  If it is a person, we can either keep that person in our lives and redefine the relationship in a more mutually-empowering way, or we can go our different ways and ensure that boundaries are put in place to prevent any future occurrence.  

If it is a disease, such as cancer or diabetes, the strongest who are affected become advocates of cures or fund-raising for the prevention or care.

When faced with a monumental atrocity, such as the Holocaust, the destruction of the Twin Towers, the shooting of the Chinese students at Tiananmen Square, murders, rapists, down to people who enjoy causing others pain and the like, seeing the perpetrators as helping us along our life path appears absurd on its very face.  Consider, though, that actions such as these strike against the very core of what it most means to be human, and that because of this, it reinforces our connection with what it means to truly be human.  When a prisoner in a Nazi death camp, while witnessing heartless murders, immediately and spontaneously burst into a prayer of gratitude, a fellow prisoner dismayed and astounded asked what he could possibly be grateful for.  The first prisoner’s answer: “I am grateful that I am not capable of that.”

What we do after that, lies in our hands.