Sorry about your wife. Perhaps that's why all you see is negativity in the world, although I suspect that Christian theology has a lot to do with it as well.
I am here to tell you that there is good in the world as well - beauty and happiness - and it is possible not just to believe that the world can be a good place, but to be able to report that fact firsthand.
Is your life so hard to live? Are you hungry or homeless? Living is fear of privation?
Almost everybody I know awakens in a comfortable bed, grabs a cup of coffee if he likes, maybe some toast, has a hot shower and dresses in decent clothes.
If he works, gets into an air conditioned car and goes to an air conditioned place of business to do fairly easy work in terms of physical effort expended, has lunch and another few hours of work before coming home to loved ones, maybe some time on the Internet.
And if retired, like me, it's all play. Last evening, my wife and I walked down to the plaza by the lake, watched the people vending, eating at roadside cafes, grilling in the park, children swimming in the lake with their dogs, young lovers walking hand in hand, kids on the swing sets and slides, etc.. Everybody seemed as happy as we were. Then we had an ice cream cone, and ran into friends with whom we sat and chatted before buying a blanket from a vendor and walking home again for a little wine and a DVD.
This morning, we've already been to the dog park and back. She's got bridge with the girls in about two hours,and we're having friends over tonight for dinner.
That's a typical life where I live, which you might call a third world country with a large expatriate community. The locals seem happy, as do the members of my demographic - retirees living abroad.
Some suffer with some arthritis or back pain, but they still enjoy life. Some are alone or unhappily married, but still, they find life a net positive. Some are losing their sight and/or hearing.
And I have seen much of the world. People mostly seem happy. Costa Ricans seem happy. Tahitians and Hawaiians seem happy. Austrians and Parisians seem happy. The people of Vietnam seemed happy.
You wrote, "
Being aware of these things means that I don't choose to inhabit your bubble."
Why is my worldview a bubble and yours not?
I just can't identify with your dark view of the world, and regret that you can't step out of your bubble into mine, although the way you worded it - "I don't choose to inhabit your bubble" - implies that you prefer the gloominess. I doubt that you do.
I know that there was a black plague, people are murdered, some get sick and die, and others are traumatized or killed in wars. Did you know that some people are not murdered, are healthy, and didn't die in a plague or war?
You suggested that you had a more realistic outlook. I don't see that. Your outlook doesn't acknowledge all of the goodness and happiness in the world, just pain and suffering.
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Moments after posting this, the following appeared in my email:
The World Happiness Report is out and the U.S. has fallen. Sad!
"The World Happiness Report rankings are based on data from the Gallup World Poll, which uses a simple measure called the “Cantril ladder.” People are asked to envision a ladder, with their “best possible life” being a 10 on the top rung, and the worst possible life being a 0. Where does their life fall on that ladder?
"Six key variables are then used to explain those happiness scores, according to the report: “income, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on in times of trouble, generosity, freedom and trust, with the latter measured by the absence of corruption in business and government.”
"All the countries in the top 10 scored highly in those six areas, with Norway as the leading example of how those factors contribute to the happiness of their residents."
That's a lot of happy people.
But you do have a great sense of humor.
