very inspirational. I love everyones feedback, it had really opened my eyes on a wider scale.

Brilliant and insightful post. 

The way I see it, I always believed that every little action has consequence in life, and it's something we're blind to to the point we've created a collective consciousness around it.

Why is there suffering in this world? Because we all have collectively accepted it. But none of us will actually admit outright.

E.g. Should I ask anyone this simple question, "Is it okay to hit a girl?" The answer is easily no.

However, when I related the dramatic stories of my toxic ex to some of my friends, the answers came differently. Many of them said, "You should have totally hit her bro!" Or "If I were you, I'd have punched her in the face!"

Right there and then, you've declared to the world that is it okay to hit a girl, even for a single moment.

I believe that there is suffering in the world because of these declarations at the heat of an emotional moment. You may say that you didn't mean it or that it was just a slip of the tongue, but the damage is already done.

You having a bad day and shouting at your kid, a random stranger or your subordinate at work. You feel bad about it later, but they'd carry that anger forward.

You typing a joke online that comes across as a cheap shot. The recipient takes it personally instead even though you claim it was just a joke, one which you feel you're given allowance to set aside your values for a second, "Racism is wrong, but this black joke is so funny!"

You watching the news of a rapist getting convicted and thrown to jail. You say that rape is wrong, but then you remark, "I hope this asshole gets his ass raped in prison!"

And so forth.

These declarations honestly shape who we are as people, as preceded by our actions that shape who I am as a person. 

With billions of the people in the world, the declarations gel together to form a collective consciousness that allows everything to happen.

But I believe everyone has good inside. 

That is why we wonder why there's so much suffering in the world. We are resisting the suffering instead of accepting that we may have caused it ourselves via our personal declarations.

One of the main points of your post, which is the question whether good can exist without evil, has been on my mind on and off for probably more than a decade. As an atheist, I've often expressed this as the [problem of evil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evil), and I was wondering whether God could come up with an excuse. The excuses I imagined contained your own in part. Some of them are defensible, some are not. For instance, even if we accept the idea that there's no good without evil, still a person can ask "why *so much* evil?" For instance, when you say "Without the contrast of the undesirable aspects of existence, I fear we would be unable to find value in what we now consider to be the good times." A Jew in a concentration camp can still ask why he suffers: his question isn't a condemnation of all suffering, just a particular amount of it. And, still, his suffering could actually have been much worse! 

To put it differently, the main question that the atheist asks, and that you asked initially, is: is there suffering that is inexcusable? Is there suffering that brings no benefit at all? If x type of suffering brings x type of benefit, does that mean there's no other way that benefit could be attained, except through that suffering? 

What you did was take suffering as a whole, and said it's important. That's like saying bees are important. But if we put millions of bees with you in a room, they'll sting you dead. Again, to put it in philosophical parlance, the question is: is this the [best of all possible worlds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_of_all_possible_worlds)? [Alvin Plantinga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Plantinga), the foremost theological philosopher, says that the Christian has no choice but to believe that's the case. If there exists the possibility of a better world, then God doesn't exist. 

Anyway, a lot more could be said. I just think this topic is interesting, and you expressed it through your own thinking, and I thought I'd add some of my own philosophical perspective to it.

The world is a beautiful mess. Lots of sorrow, lots of joy. You are free to choose how you feel and what you give thought to. I, for one, have chosen to be happy. That choice is available to anyone and does not imply unawareness to the suffering of others. It only implies quiet acceptance and making the choice of being happy and grateful for life, Being in the world but not of it.

Great post @son-of-satire.

Yes, you are right ... Unfortunately these are the reasons why there is too much suffering in the world. We have to change that

One of the cosmologies I subscribe to and still find viable in this age is what I call Gnostic Non-Duality. It's a cosmology that recognizes the fallibility of, *The Demiurge, whom, in this cosmology, is very much real and is responsible for this flawed universe. We know that an 'OMNI' God could have easily made the world without suffering so we can deduce that the God of this existence is a limited God. 
So what of this OMNI God? Well, sirs and madames, its ways are unfathomable but the wisdom of The Aeons work good for all things are contained within The Gnostic Kristos where the fullness and harmony of the opposites are reconciled into non-duality:))) 
Okay, I'm down with spiritual atheism, too! Or what is called Pantheism, or a complete naturalist spirituality. 
* The Demiurge is irrelevant as far as humanity is concerned; we deal with its Archons, and they are, indeed, a force to be reckoned​ with. But in Non-Dual Gnosticism, ​it is better not to judge them by human standards of morality.

Very uplifting! I like this Newton's law and your post. Subscribed!

These people are suffering. Stand against brutality and raise ur voive


http://steemit.com/steemit/@annaaa/human-rights-violation-in-rohingya-steemitians-i-need-your-attention-201795t17410315z

Hello @son-of-satire ! It's good to meet you!

I fully agree with the majority of your post, and appreciate your effort to provide motivation and comfort in a world where such things are lacking.

I do believe we could have a conversation about the idea of a Yin and Yang 'balance'. This idea is one that has much attraction and I hold a deep respect for it, especially since I used to believe it myself.

However, over time, I've realised that this idea of 'balance' between good and evil begins to shake when we try to actually apply it to the real world.

Lets examine it and follow the logical thread. The balance between good and evil entails that every evil action will be counterbalanced by some sort of good. So, while the world may seem filled with evil, there will always be good things to make up for it.

This sounds good, until you try to apply it to a person. A person is not exempt from this macrocosmic mechanism. We are an extension of it. So if I do 10 good, compassionate and loving deeds, this will put the world out of balance. I'm destabilising the universe. So, by the principle of Yin and Yang, which seeks equilibrium, either I must do 10 evil things, or 10 evil things need to happen to someone else (lets say the people I helped with my 10 good deeds) in order to put things back in order.

To solve this problem, we can try to add the law of Karma. Yet, if we try to follow this to its logical conclusion as well,  we will quickly find it doesn't help a lot. Karma says that whatever you put out, you will attract back to yourself times over. It is a cosmic arbiter, of sorts. So, I, by doing 10 good, compassionate, loving things, will not attract the cosmic equilibrium against myself, but actually will get rewarded by having 20 good things come back to me. And the evil deeds will attract double the evil on themselves. 

This will actually work against the balance of Yin and Yang, since to reward the good, someone else must do even more good (adding to the imbalance), and to punish the evil, someone else will somehow be forced to do evil to the original culprit (adding to the imbalance). 

Thus, in this philosophy of 'balance' we are all endlessly playing out this cycle of inbalance, where we are forced to either reward or punish someone else's Karmic debt; after all Yin and Yang mean that there must be an equal amount of evil to the good.

So 'balance' between good and evil may sound good on the surface but is actually an idea which justifies the existence of evil in general. It would actually be better not to do anything at all, ever, since you would simply disturb the natural balance even more. After all, how would you know what you need to do to restore balance anyway, since we do not see the scale? Perhaps all the little good things that happen outweigh the bad ones and we just do not see it because of our pessimism, which is why evil is on the rise?

Perhaps I'm over-thinking? But then again, this is just an application of the Karmic laws. 

Since you referenced the Bible, and I personally believe in it, it tells us that we have all been created with a capacity to choose between doing what is right and doing what is wrong. When people do what is wrong, they corrupt their own image. And just as when a conductor making a wrong movement can cause chaos in an orchestra, our own sin causes a ripple effect if we allow it to multiply. Therefore, children tend to repeat the mistakes of their forefathers, either out of ignorance, or personal choice. Therefore, we are encouraged to struggle against our inclination to encourage and ignore evil but instead to combat it with good, since sin plants seeds of evil, while love and compassion plant seeds of good.


I am sorry for the huge reply..... I know it became way too long... I just find the topic very interesting! ^_^

Thank you for your post, once again!

Good one.... I'm glad I read this. Keep it up.

The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

인생에는   언제나  달고  약처럼  쓰지요. 살아가면서  스트레스를 각자의  방식으로 풀고 각자 인생을 공부합니다. 많은 사람들의 인생에서 가장  중요한것은  무엇일까요?  이글을 읽으면서  생각을 다시하게 됩니다.

Very nice post....

The last part of Karma really hits home.  I personally have made it an effort to on a daily basis work to give back to those in need, no matter how big or small.  I'm not talking just holding a door for someone either; that's just common courtesey people!  I'm talking about being a good ear for someone who is upset, noticing an ill or weakened neighbor needs a helping hand, give advice based on past experience and knowledge to someone who is now going through the same thing.  Seems trivial, I know, but those type of things are not material in nature and in my eyes go a much longer way in life than just giving money or food to someone.  I welcome the opportunity daily to do my part to help at least one person and if I can do that, then I hope that:

1- That makes their day
2- They will do something good for another person
3- I can teach or demonstrate to someone that they should always have faith and not to give up- always push forward.

Thanks for this post....

Feeling happy being here with steemit community which is like a world of knowledge and information .....

At the end of the day , I think that all we "lack" is the proper use of our minds. Couldn't agree more on this. An amazing post!

>It is my belief, that it is through our acts of kindness and compassion that this balance is maintained, and to pass up on an opportunity to help another, is to deny them the joy that would have counteracted the misery they have suffered, or will suffer in future.

it surely helps alleviate the stress but in the big picture it doesnt matter much.  What will do it is to quit giving away our consent to any wanna-be rulers. The biggest enemy of peace and prosperity is inner fear.

Great post ! We all have seen or gone through much in our life and for me ,I try to give what I can and also to try to remain positive & to encourage others as well to do so.We all need to join together because that is how big changes occur

Upvoted & resteemed

Good post @son-of-satire

This post is a true marvel. You have a way with words that is a real gift, and it almost makes me a bit jealous :P

I think it comes down to being mindful of all the opportunities we have, every single day, to make a really small effort has a relatively large positive benefit for somebody else. If we all do this, we can go so much further altogether.

This is a very nice post. 
>It's easy to grasp this principle. To assimilate it, live it, and retain it however, is far more difficult a task. Before one can adopt a true belief in this universal law of balance, they must first find evidence to support it. This evidence cannot be found through reading articles such as this, nor through the viewing of YouTube videos or any other secondary source of information. There is but one way in which this truth can be realised; through observation.

I support this entirely as we can't fully grasp the happening of suffering or evil without observation.


Suffering  and evil was worse in the past than it is today as Steven Pinker gave some very good insight in his book 'The better angels of our nature' that this is one of the most peaceful time the world has ever witnessed however we are better much aware of the happens around the world (thanks to the internet) now than ever in the history of human kind which makes evil news spread around faster and wilder than good news or deeds of humans and hence creates a false impression about the current state of the world as against the undocumented and unknown information of suffering or evil that has happened in the past.

In conclusion we can do better as humans to reduce the level of suffering however I feel we are making better progress than the generations before us in reducing the level of suffering and/or evil.

Excellent words that reflect a reality of which often we want to leave of side, something so real that we refuse to see.

Good post

I think we as human beings should stand together inspite of us not being the same, lets try to be understanding just for once and you will see the average person's behaviour will change. All we need to do is view the problem out of their eyes, understand the problem as they would, only then will you realize that your opinion is not always the only opinion that is right. This world has no place for pride it already

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTWMSV3KKFfu3VmH9Fn4qenZ6QxnaDCp68hb9PMfHsyMd/image.png)