As we approach Monday's deadline (and all other professional and personal
crossroads), and all the stress therein, I offer this to help you keep
order & things in the proper perspective.
If Earth's population was shrunk into a village of just 100 people --
with all the human ratios existing in the world still remaining --
what would this tiny, diverse village look like?
That's exactly what Phillip M.Harter, a medical doctor at the
Stanford University school of Medicine, attempted to figure out.
This is what he found:
57 would be Asian
21 would be European
14 would be from the Western Hemisphere
8 would be African
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be nonwhite
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59 percent of the entire world's wealth, and all 6
would be from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death
1 would be pregnant
1 would have a college education
1 would own a computer
The following is an anonymous interpretation:
Think of it this way. If you live in a good home, have plenty to eat and
can read, you are a member of a very select group. And if you have a good
house, food, can read and have a computer, you are among the very elite.
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness... you are more
fortunate than the million who will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of
imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you
are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest,
torture, or death...you are fortunate, more than three billion people in
the world can't.
If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof
overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world.
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish
someplace...you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
If your parents are still alive and still married...you are very rare,
even in the United States.
If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful
you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.
If you can hold someone's hand, hug them or even touch them on shoulder
you are blessed because you can offer healing touch.
If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that
someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more blessed than
over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.
Have a good day, count your blessings, and pass this along to remind
everyone else how blessed we all are.
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