I want all of you to take a moment and think of something. Something you’ve always wanted, big, small, expensive, cheap. And I want you to think about that through this entire story.

This world never stops, its greed and wishing, you have to wonder when it will ever be satisfied. We now live in a world of immense competition, where every task or aspect of life has a winner, but we ask ourselves, will this ever stop? Will this world full of want just slow down for a minute? Girls need more clothes, guys need more cars, but will the pleading of something you can’t have, will that ever come to a halt? No one ever sees a thanks to what we have, or everything we’ve been blessed with. Truthfully, we live in a world where there’s dissatisfaction and unhappiness at every moment, but do we ever look around for a moment and think about just how blessed we really are?
We live in a world where starving children in Africa is an excuse to finish your dinner, where giving a five dollar bills to the homeless guy on the corner is your good deed of the day, where that cute top on the Nordstroms rack is the only exception to your savings plan, and where sports and Call of Duty are the center of every teenage boy’s life. We live in a world where going to charity events is a status, where every decadent meal is posted on Instagram, and where everyone is just too worried about what other people think of them. We never question the idea of difference, of being the one to end all of this. We question when the world will stop thinking of themselves and we wonder when those starving children in Africa will be fed or those sickened men living under the bridge will be housed. But the question really is, who is going to be the first to try, to try to fix all of the problems in the world, to try to make a difference?

The first thing that comes to mind is someone volunteering an hour at the local animal shelter or someone’s father father sending a generous check to the “Stop Kony” campaign, or everyone could just step back and take a look at their life. Girls, do we really need another super adorable top? And guys, do we really need those knew Nike tennis shoes? Or do we really need to make a difference? We all wonder when this world we live in will stop for a second and realize what its missing, but one is ever willing to step on the break.

This world is essentially a huge war between greed, wealth, and need all battling each other to be the most important. Earth just acts as the battle ground. And we, we just act as the soldiers. Need is a losing battle, for we give in to the greed and wealth of today’s world because it seems nice to have a good life, and to live without a care. But, next time you’re laying by the pool, or walking the streets of some gorgeous destination city, just remember those kids in Africa, or those homeless men, or even of that kid in your grade that lives a life far less glamorous than yours. Isn’t it about time our actions speak louder than our words?

Maybe you will change your mind about all of this. Maybe you won’t. But, remember that thing I made you think of at the beginning of all of this, ask yourself if its really worth it. There is a light you know, one that people are going to keep chasing, wanting a better world. But until someone catches it, this world is where we live and a little bit of difference is all it needs.