The world is full of problems, ranging from the social to the environmental side. I could spend a whole day listing the uncountless amount of issues we face today. And this affects us, especially now that we have more access to information and, consequently, know more about them. Media has an important role on this too, since it tends to excessively emphasize on the problems and touch just a little on the solutions that are being created and the people that are doing so. When I say media, I mean mainstream media, because there are informational channels that focus more on the positive side, but they have lower reaches than the big journals. What I think that mainstream media do is to give too much attention to the problems in a way that seems that hope doesn't exist for us anymore, and the world is basically broken. 

The fact is that these problems exist, and with or without media coverage, we can sometimes feel really sad about them. Talking from a personal perspective, I can assure that many of us have thought about environmental problems in a very hopeless way. Global warming is knocking on our doors and we feel overwhelmed about it. It seems to be an unstoppable problem and the only thing we can do is to wait until the apocalypse. I know this feeling, I went through this earlier in my life. You feel like you don’t have anything you can do to help solve it, and then you start thinking of giving up. Or maybe you feel sad about hunger. Millions of people don't have food to eat, and many of them end up dying from it. 

And I think that this happens because you are a sensitive person. Not fragile, sensitive. You have consciousness about the world around you. But, the problem is that your way of being sensitive is focusing on the ego. You are an ego sensitive person (when I say “you”, I mean a general person, not exactly you the reader). And this can hurt you, everything in the world can hurt you. When food comes in front of you, you can suffer, because you know that a lot of people don’t have the same as you. But, instead of suffering alone and doing nothing, you can try to feel happy that at least you are eating well and then you see what you can do about the problem. And this means you are sensitive to life. 

Sensitive to life means that you experience everything as part of yourself, and the humanity in you will not allow you to be quiet in the face of a problem. This happens in a natural way, that is, you don’t have to force yourself to be that way. Humanity within you will bloom out and you, naturally, will see what you are able to do. Each of us do whatever our capabilities permit us to do. What you can’t do, you don’t do. But, what you can do, you will do. 

Suffering from others' suffering doesn’t bring anything good for anyone. You are just increasing the level of suffering in the world. The point is to be the opposite of it, that is, be happy when a lot of people are suffering. Not happy about (or because of) their sufferings, but just happy about yourself. Being confident about your own life is the best thing you can do when a lot of people are struggling on your side, because in that way you will naturally see what you, within your possibilities, can do. 

When you have fear about your suffering, you will hesitate in face of many things and won’t be useful to resolve whatever is the problem. When you don't have this fear, you will be able to intercede in anyone’s problem. Without that hesitation, you will be able to create some kind of stability within yourself and, hence, be happy. And then, when you are happy, you will be able to touch other’s lives. It will come naturally, since you will be sensitive to life.  

I know it’s hard to be that way, and I’m not asking for you to be positive all the time. It’s completely ok to feel sad about these world problems sometimes, and your own struggles as well. In fact, even though I’m saying all this stuff to you, I’m not the most happy and “sensitive to life” person. But, I’m trying to be. And that’s the beauty of it, the process of growth and learning. What I’m asking you is to think about it and see if this applies to your life. If yes, then consider what you can do to make this world a better place, for you and for others.