Fortune

Recently I've been thinking a lot about how amazing the human race is. Most of these thoughts have likely spawn due to my mild obsession with the show "I Survived," regardless, I have had some very inspiring thoughts about humans as a species.
We are incredible, highly functioning figures of anatomy. We have working limbs, minds, and hearts and we can do so much with them. Our bodies can be fast, flexible and strong. We can learn Italian, play the piano, and create pieces of art that could take someones breath away. We can analyze and interpret. We can feel our own personal emotions, and we can express them.
And every day, someone looses their vision. Everyday someone is born deaf, looses a limb, has a stroke, or is paralyzed. Everyday people die. The scary thing is no matter how amazing our bodies and minds are, they are so vulnerable and so easily destroyed. Think about walking... isn't it great? It's so effective and we do it all day everyday. Think about stairs, escalators, running, trampolines. Now think of what your life would be like if tomorrow you woke up without legs.
That happens to someone everyday.
But- it's once in a million, right? It would never happen to you, right?
Wrong.
In the game of life, sadly, there is no such thing as "Immunity" and we are all fragile to the injuries that could change our daily processes forever. Yet, everyday, the functions of our bodies are taken for granted. And right now, especially now, while we're young, beautiful and alive, when our body is in the best shape, is so capable to learn and adapt quickly, we pollute ourselves without thinking twice. We smoke cigarettes, binge drink and do drugs. We voluntarily put toxins and poisons into our lungs and through our livers and we intentionally, yet unintentionally, kill ourselves a little bit each time. It's not as if we can claim ignorance because we know cigarettes are horrible. We have all seen the pictures of polluted lungs, read the listing of chemicals in the cigarettes and are fully aware of the hazard smoking is. And yet, inexplicably, the smokers don't seem to mind. I used to be one of them and it truly is unexplainable how these facts no longer have an influence over you when you habitually smoke. How many times have you heard a story of someone going to the hospital due to an accident while drinking? How many times have you heard of a drunk driver dying, or killing someone else? How many stories of drug overdoses or drug addicts have you heard?
When is it finally enough?
In no way am I saying that drinking is always unacceptable. And sure, this is also the time of our lives to experiment and learn lessons, and drinking and trying drugs will be always be huge part of the developmental process because of the lessons we can learn from them. At the same time there's also a huge part of that excuse that can be complete bullshit. To experiment and enjoy yourself occasionally is one thing- to try to justify binge drinking every weekend is another. And in that sense, the "time of our lives" excuse is mute. To me, there's a big difference between moderation and fun and truly harming yourself on a regular basis.
There's a big part of me that is furious with these poison paramours. How can they do this to themselves?
We have a beautiful, flawless instrument to do incredible things with. We can invent microscopes and the periodic table, climb mountains, pave highways 5,000 miles long, build homes, create education systems, go to the moon, save lives.
We are the lucky ones.
Let's use our working minds and able bodies to help those without the adequacy to live a normal life. Let's stop polluting our bodies and minds and take care of ourselves, improve ourselves so that we can begin ameliorating our environment and ecosystem.
If we can climb Mount Everest, carve faces into a mountain side, and paint the ceiling of Sistine Chapel, then we can solve the crisis of global warming and poverty. We can stop wars. We can advocate peace make a change. We can make a difference!
Let's start that revolution, let's take that first step, so that tomorrow you can say, "We are the lucky ones and we will share our fortune."