Just imagining? Does that make for a better world? No way! To make a better world, you need to spend lots of money, you need to be very conscious of the environment, you need to be part of Greenpeace and Amnesty International, you need to be a vegetarian and volunteer at soup kitchens!
No you don't.
Well, those things are nice. And of course they help.
But think about this.
What is this "better world" that you would like to see created? Do you know exactly how it looks, what is different about it, what you would like to see in it? Or have you never thought that far? Have you been caught up in thinking about everything that is wrong with this planet, instead, or have you thought in terms of "A better world should not have x, y, and x"?
A wise man once said:
No matter how qualified or deserving you are, you will never reach a better life until you can imagine it for yourself, and allow yourself to have it.
The same is true for the world. No matter how much it is possible for our world to be something much more, something brighter and healthier and beautiful... it is never going to happen. Unless people like you and I can first imagine for ourselves what this world should look like, what we want to see changed, and how.
How do you do this? It's easy. Not by thinking about what this planet shouldn't look like and everything that's wrong with it, but by envisioning the most beautiful, healthy, amazing place you can. Spend 5 or 10 minutes every night before you go to sleep, and just dream up the very best you can. By thinking of it, by imagining it and holding this image for just a few minutes every night, you already focus your attention and energy on it, and in doing so you will help create it.
And if that's not enough... in doing this you will finally have an amazing goal to work towards that you can get excited about, instead of a horrible image that you can only run away from. You won't ever arrive at your destination by running away. You need to run towards something. Something so good that makes you want to arrive there.
Yes, your vision of a better world will be different than mine. And that's awesome. We are many different people on this planet, with many different ideas. That's what makes it such an interesting place to live and love. There isn't a one perfect vision of the future, and there shouldn't be. It will be in combining our creativity and enthusiasm that we can together make something worthwhile happen.
And it starts with one simple step. Imagine this planet to be the best thing you can come up with. And have fun with it. Your thoughts matter.