There’s no getting around the fact that the more society advances the more apparent its degradation becomes, be it by rising crime rates, increasingly powerful ‘defense’ weapons, or kids carrying guns to school and using them on their peers. These kinds of things are major, tending to get a lot of attention and media coverage.

No matter how peaceful we are ourselves, our everyday lives can be showered with grotesque visions of the many ways the human race has developed to torment itself and tear itself down, showing that despite our houses with running water and technological gadgets that amuse us and make our lives easier we’re really still just as barbaric as ever, if not more so.

The world around us has changed, as has our basic ways of life (unless, that is, you happen to be living in a tribe in some jungle - though they do have to suffer from our pollution and misuse/abuse of our planet), but the savage animal with its primal instincts and desires to be on top still remains inside of us, probably not as dormant as we’d like for it to be.

It’s basic instinct to put ourselves first, to do everything we can to make sure we get as close to the top as we can. This can come through in the smallest and seemingly harmless incidents (speeding, cutting line) but is even more apparent in others (murder, stealing, cheating, lying).

How much better would the world be if people were more considerate? If there weren’t so many “me me me” people out there mowing over anyone they can to get ahead, wouldn’t it make our days more peaceful and definitely more enjoyable?

It really isn’t too hard to quiet the beast within when it’s roaring that you should come first. Simple acts can have such an impact - stopping and holding a door open for someone, picking up something someone dropped, waiting the few extra seconds for a car to pass instead of cutting it off. Try to understand where someone is coming from if you don’t agree, try to understand how they feel… you might be amazed at how differently things can look from the other side when you try putting yourself in their shoes.

Always try to treat others as you want to be treated. Respect someone and their opinions no matter how different from yours they may be, and remember that a difference in opinion doesn’t make the other person stupid or wrong.

The longest journey starts with one step, just imagine what a smile could start.