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I often read or hear polemic relating to “The Problem of Evil” in which the world is described as so horrible that God must be some sort of cruel psychopath if he is behind it all. While there is no shortage of horror stories in this world I am becoming increasingly aware that by far most people, most of the time, live quite good and happy lives.

As westerners we assume that we’ve got it good and the 3rd world is suffering and, while this is partly true, it is also true that any traveller to these countries will tell you that the smiling faces are all in Africa, SE Asia, India etc. We pity these people because they live on rice and have no Nike shoes or PlayStation but we’re the ones with the high suicide and depression rates, not to mention decay of moral values and general physical and mental health. We may have the technology to “cope” but we’ve probably made more problems than we’ve solved.

My point is that most people, most of the time are not suffering horribly but that bad news is highlighted and promoted aby the media we feed on. Of the 3 million good things which happened in Smallsville today, it’s the rape or supermarket robbery which makes the newspaper and maybe even national news.

If I were to tell my own life story I’d probably devote a disproportionate amount of time to my mishaps and sufferings. I won’t even recall the quite walks and talks I’ve enjoyed or the golden hours I’ve spent with friends and family. If I stop to really take stock of my life – increasingly difficult in a world of iPods and Internet – I find I can really be grateful for my life and express joy at the time I’ve had.

In a spirit of gratitude I can thank my creator for giving me life and get a sense for the value he instills in me and the fruit he expects of me!