Aging

Food for Thought

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When the sun rises,
it rises for everyone.

--- Cuban Proverb

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Men are born equal
but they are also born different.

--- Erich Fromm

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There are always flowers
for those who want to see them.

--- Henri Matisse

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A pessimist sees the
difficulty in every opportunity;
An optimist sees the
opportunity in very difficulty.

--- Winston Churhill

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Don't walk in front of me,
I may not follow.
Don't walk behind me,
I may not lead.
Just walk beside me
and be my friend.

--- Albert Camus

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Our Global Village

It is human nature for us to look at the world around us and see those who we feel have more, live better and are in better shape than ourselves. We often lose sight of the fact that there are also those who have less, live worse and are in lesser shape than ourselves. We would gain a much better, more balanced and more centered perspective if we looked as the world using the analogy of it as a global village.

If we could shrink the Earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look approximately like this as of 2009:

61 would be from Asia (20 from China and 17 from India)
11 would be from Europe
14 would be from Africa
14 would be from the Western Hemisphere

9 would be from Latin America (Mexico / Central America / South America / Caribbean)
4.5 would be from the United States
0.5 would be from Canada

75 would be non-white
25 would be white

67 would be non-Christian

20 would be Muslim
13 would be Hindus
6 would be Buddhists
14 would be miscellaneous religions
2 would be atheists
12 would be non-religious

33 would be Christians

89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual

60 would live within 62 miles of a coastline

52 would be female
48 would be male

4.5 would possess 32% of the world's wealth (and all 4.5 would be from the United States)
19 would be from developed countries with an annual gross income per capita of US $22,060
81 would be from less developed countries with an annual gross income per capita of US $3,580
48 would live on less than US $2.00 a day
20 would live on less than US $1.00 a day

Average annual income in US dollars:

$10,500 - Worldwide
$118,000 - Liechtenstein (highest country)
$47,000 - United States
$300 - Congo (lowest country)

48 would lack access to basic sanitation
33 would suffer from malnutrition (1 would be dying of starvation)
25 would live in substandard housing or have no home at all
16 would lack access to safe drinking water

20 would consume 80% of the world's energy
80 would consume 20% of the world's energy
76 would have electricity
24 would not have electricity

27 would be under 15 years old
7 would be over 64 years old

Average life expectancy at birth (in years):

67 - Worldwide
81 - Australia, Iceland, Spain and Sweden (highest countries)
78 - North America
78 - United States
75 - Europe
72 - South America
68 - Asia
52 - Africa
34 - Botswana and Swaziland (lowest Countries)

Median age in years (half are older and half are younger):

28.0 - Worldwide
43.8 - Japan (highest country)
36.7 - United States
15.7 - Uganda (lowest country)

18 would be unable to read and write

10 would live in the least developed countries

1 would be infected with HIV/AIDS

1 would have a college education

3 would own a computer
8 would have access to the Internet

When we consider our world from such an incredibly compressed sociological perspective, we gain a better understanding that there are always those who have more but there are also a considerable number who have less. Seeing the world as a village, it becomes glaringly apparent we need to be more centered, balanced, understanding, cooperative and tolerant with those with whom we share the planet.