I always turn on the television when I wake up and on weekdays before going to work, the channel is always on BBC World. It’s my little window to remind me that the world I live in is much larger than what goes on in my day-to-day life. It provides me with a reality check every time. It’s terrible, but it gives me a sick sense of comfort to know that I’m better off than many.

Like many people, I’ve got a 9 to 6 job. I go out with Carlos and my friends to movies and gigs. I attend some benefits and give a little to charity. It’s a pretty steady, seemingly guilt free life and I have no complaints about it. I mind my own business and I’m tired of the drama that used to plague my past years. I don’t like conflict and so I’ve created a small comfort zone.

Millions are probably experiencing the same privileges that I have, but unfortunately there are millions who aren’t. So many people live in poverty, prejudice, war stricken homelands, and suffer various diseases. Sometimes I feel guilty that I think I am powerless to help and instigate change, but this is exactly the type of mentality that tolerates and sometimes propagates these terrible realities. Like many of us, we merely turn off the television.

I’ve always admired individuals who have revolutionized civilizations and empowered people. I admire Mahatma Gandhi, Ninoy Aquino, the Dalai Lama, Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, Friedrich Nietzsche, Paulo Coelho, Oprah, Bono and so many other heroes. They’ve actually made their passions and ideas a reality. It takes a lot of guts to voice out and put actions to what you believe in to help other people. Not a lot of us have that because it’s easier to give money to the beggar down the street rather than give him a job and a home to live in.

I’m not saying that we need to do something that is big or astounding. Like the people that I’ve mentioned whom I consider heroes, they’ve used their chosen professions to make change a reality and alleviate the terrible things that people are afflicted with. No matter how mediocre our jobs and statuses seem to be, we can always do something profoundly good to help people. It’s only a matter of knowing that we can in fact do something that may seemingly be small, but taken together, may actually eliminate these terrible realities.