The world feels extra crazy right now. Yeah, perhaps it has always been thus. Between the political tension, a pandemic, concerns over climate, and the financial stress we can find ourselves under, a bit of good news about the world we live in is most welcome.

As a matter of fact, there ARE some good things going on in this world of ours, when you you look at the big picture. That is, if we can stop worrying about the end of the world for a few moments:

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Life expectancy continues to increase. Although, due to the opioid crisis and other factors, the data looks a bit bleak over the last cycle, when you look at the overall picture, people are still continuing to live longer than humans ever have.

Child mortality continues to drop. Again, yes, you can look at some of the concerning headlines that show there are some battles we are losing at the moment, generally we are winning the war against child mortality.

Overall, literacy is continuing to increase. There are few things, in my opinion, more important than education. The ability to read is a crucial part of that. Thankfully, the world is becoming more literate.

Poverty is still going down. Worldwide, that is. Yes, there are definite reasons to be concerned in a rich country like ours. Too many of our citizens are experiencing a lower quality of life than their parents, and even grandparents did. We must fix this. Throughout the world though, the percentage of folks who do not live in extreme poverty is increasing.

So, there you have it. Many reasons to celebrate on a global scale. As always, there is more work to do. But every now and then we have to look up from our toil and see what has been accomplished. Much to be grateful for, indeed.

If you'd like to dig in and learn more about the data, take a look here.

LOOK: 50 photos of American life in 2020

 

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