With all of that doom-and-gloom said, I will also say that there is hope.

Not exactly in humanity or the world (at least, from my perspective), but in individual people who choose to make do with what they have, and strive to be kind and serve others no matter what. The world is a very scary, cruel place, full of equally scary, cruel people and governments. However, no matter how bad things get, there is always something one can do to make things just a little bit better. There's always something one can do to work towards their personal goals, no matter how small or large they are.

I remember when I was either in late middle school/early high school, sitting in my therapist's office, whining about how I just want to be happy. 

"Well... what does happiness look like to you?" my therapist asked. 

"Not being in constant pain and fear..." I replied, shifting uncomfortably in my seat (I'd eaten something that was not agreeing with me whatsoever, which only added to my pain). 

"Ok, so I hear two problems here..." my therapist began, "First, that you're in pain, second, that you're afraid. How can we deal with these two problems? Or, rather, dice them up into a bunch of tiny, fixable problems?"

"Well..." I began with a slight smile, "I can probably start by not eating bacon for breakfast."

"There ya go!" my therapist laughed, "That can help to solve at least one of your problems. What else?"

I honestly forget how the rest of the conversation went that day, but I do know that I left my therapist's office feeling a little more empowered, and a little more hopeful that things can be changed for the better. That there were things within my control that I could change for the better, no matter what. And, if I changed enough little things in my life that were well within my control, one day I may come to realize that I totally fixed my issue of pain, and/or my issue of fear, simply by taking one massive problem, chopping it up into a bunch of much smaller problems, and fixing the biggest problems in my life one little issue at a time. 

Now, as I'm faced with the death of my dog, Hunter, I'm already looking for a new rescue to welcome into my family. This rescue, whatever it may be, will never replace Hunter. Indeed, Hunter is not replaceable in any way, shape, or form. I will always miss him. I wish there was a Trikafta for all creatures that could make them feel young and well again. However, no such pill exists. There will never be a Trikafta against aging. 

As much as my heart throbs for Hunter, I feel compelled to continue my dream of saving animals from the pain and loneliness of abuse and the shelter, one dog at a time. I may not be able to rescue every shelter dog in the world, or even in my city or neighborhood. But I can change the world for whichever shelter dog I choose to come stay with us, as I did for Hunter. Each pet I have, I want to give them the best damn life they could ever ask for, thus changing the world for that animal. 

Perhaps, we ought to treat the world's biggest problems the same way. The world will never be perfect. Society will never be perfect. Humans, both as individuals and as a whole, will never be perfect. If anything, Earth is way closer to hell than to heaven. But, that doesn't mean we should just give up trying to make things better. Sure, we may never fully stamp out hate and discrimination, abuse or death. But we (as individuals) can work on being more loving and accepting ourselves, which in turn makes the world just a little safer, a little kinder, a little less excruciating to live in. If enough individual people work to become more loving and accepting, then entire societies can be influenced and changed for the better. When entire societies change for the better, it can influence outside individuals and societies to do the same. 

And that is how the world changes. 

The world will forever be plagued with hatred, selfishness, wars, famines, corruption, sin, terror, suffering, freak accidents, etc, etc, until the end of time. There will always be people out there who seek to do as much damage to this world as they possibly can. There will always be people out there who will rile up hateful mobs to attack and discriminate marginalized groups. There will always be people who dive off the deep-end, Ye-West-style, and fuck shit up for the rest of us. There will always be people who are sadistically cruel to every living creature they come into contact with. However, that doesn't mean things can't get better as time goes on. That doesn't mean we, as individuals, can't work to be better people, and make our own little circles safer. That doesn't mean that the world doesn't get better with time, because it has, it is, and it always will. 

A decade ago, studies suggested that the first person to live to be 150 years old had already been born. 50 years ago, it was rare to live to 70. As time goes on, humanity progresses. Technology improves. Healthcare improves. The standard of living increases. Wages increase. More and more people get educated and connected with the rest of the world. Four-day-weeks are becoming more and more common. Job conditions continue to improve. Environmentalism is at the forefront of everyone's minds these days, and people and companies are really starting to "go green" as they say. Hell, World of Warcraft just came out with its best expansion in a decade! 

Perhaps, it isn't all doom-and-gloom. Humanity may never be fully just and sinless (at least, not in this realm). But maybe... just maybe... life, liberty, happiness, justice, peace, and love can outweigh all the hate, suffering, evil, and death in this world after all. 

One small step at a time.  

If not, then I pray that a better world lies in the next life. 

In the meantime, I'm gonna keep on doing what I do best: writing, playing World of Warcraft, and shouting obscenities at God from His Ass in the valley. 

So far, so good...