Day 251: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2252788/86-year-old-afraid-burgled-mugged-way-home-casino-carrying-6-000-life-savings-1-000-winnings.html

A pensioner who carried around her £6,000 in life savings because she was afraid of being burgled was mugged on the way home from a casino.
The 86-year-old woman's bag, containing about £7,000, was snatched at 2.35am shortly after she got out of a taxi on her way home from Genting Salford Casino, Greater Manchester Police said.
Along with her life savings, she was also robbed of her £1,000 winnings by the suspect, described as a young man, about 5ft 4ins and skinny.
The thief, who was wearing a black hooded jacket with the hood up, and black trousers snatched her white satchel bag from her shoulder in the Swinton area of Greater Manchester, before running off. 
The woman is believed to have sustained bruising to the arm and shoulder and is recovering from shock following the incident on Sunday morning.
Pc Michelle Ingham of Greater Manchester Police said: 'This was a particularly cruel robbery on a vulnerable, lone, elderly woman who had been enjoying a night out at the casino and was returning home with a large amount of cash in her handbag. - Daily Mail

There are good people in the world, then there are not so good people and there are also truly evil people. Maybe our lives would be different if we were all "good people" - but there's no use in getting caught up in "what if". We have to face our reality - and the reality is that we have made a mess of this life.

Most religions agree that life is a gift. A lot of the mainstream media going around also reckons that life is a gift. Well, if life is a gift and I was the gift-giver, I'd be mighty pissed off with humanity for abusing it so thoroughly.

What would it take for us to live in a way that truly honours the gift of life? Firstly, we would have to honour all life and not just our own. We would have to give as we would like to receive. We would have to love all others equally and harbour no ill thoughts or feelings toward another. We would have to learn how to share. We would have to learn how to direct ourselves out of our self interested patterns and into patterns of living and doing what is best for all.

Are there enough good people in the world to ensure this new and better life is brought about? It doesn't look like it. It would be foolish to say "have faith", because faith won't actually change the world. It would be equally foolish to simply give up, for that would only be further proof that we do not deserve this gift of life.

We have the opportunity to live as examples to others, to prove that we can strive to honour the gift of life. We have much to make up for, so it will take time before we can truly say that we live in such a way that honours all life - there simply is no other choice, for if we do not try, then we will surely fail.