It’s amazing to me how outrageously selfish and nasty people are. Now more than ever, we have technology at our fingertips almost 24/7 in which we can find information; information on how to better ourselves, our communities, and our world. Yet, there seem to be 3 major groups of people:

1. those that actively do good and try to make a change around them for the better;
2. those that use their capabilities to harm others, just so they can get what they want, those that steal, murder, and/or make others miserable in the general;
3. those that may or may not have good intentions, but do nothing with the power they are given by endless information available to us.

The 3rd type of person might as well be at bad at the 2nd. Sure, these people do not actively create problems, but they do not create solutions. No one person can create world peace, and no group of people can create it overnight, but we have so many resources! So many ways to make a difference, even just to 1 person. The right amount of compassion spreads like dandelions! If you’re sick and saddened by continuous news stories about mass shootings at schools and places of worship,  genocide in other countries, sexism, racism, the number of homeless people in America, the number of children who go without food or education, animals being hunted into extinction, people dying of preventable illnesses, etc, etc, (Jon Stewart did a fantastic job at describing America right now.) then DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

• Join an activist group to get others involved
• Volunteer your time for a cause you care about in your community
• Sponsor a child in your country so he/she can go to school and eat properly
• Buy food and water for the next homeless person you pass, sleeping on the street
• Boycott products and brands
• Simply smile and say, “Thank you” to the next waiter/waitress/bartender that serves you
• Simply smile and say, “Hello” to the next person you pass on the street
• Help the person that just dropped their groceries and are terribly embarrassed

There are SO many ways to give back that don’t cost you a penny or even a second of your spare time. No one could have realistically stopped any of these people that decide to open fire in schools, religious gatherings, or movie theaters, but we can absolutely help to prevent today’s children from growing up so disturbed. We can help people with depression, bipolar disorder, and other mental illnesses just by caring. We can help families in need by being aware and less selfish.

There will always be that 2nd group of people that steal, murder, and do awful things, but if we combine the 1st and 3rd groups, we will outrank. Stop just “thinking” about volunteering next week. Do it. Don’t feel sorry for the homeless person on your way home from the bar, drop off a bottle of water and a granola bar by their pillow. Encourage your friend with depression to go talk to counselor. Just do something–big or small in impact.

We’ve all heard this since we were babies, “A little bit goes a long way.”

Believe in it. Live by it. Love by it.