How DO you live in this age?

CAKE is one of my favorite bands, and recently they held a contest to answer this question, the best answer would win their latest CD.

Dear CAKE,

I think a similar question may have been posed before, but how do you continue to enjoy life in this age? Knowing people across the world want to kill you, and that every time you turn the key to your car you're using a non-renewable resource that's not only destroying the environment but slowly destroying civilization? I'm 18, what do I have to look forward to in the grand scheme of things? Do any of you have families? What do you think about having kids? This may sound kind of desperate, sorry. I don't mean it to. I'm not really agonizing about it, but it's in the back of my mind a lot.

Thanks,

Tim

I think that this is a fairly important question (or type of question) that many people struggle with, and my answer is below.

Dear Tim,

I’ll let you in on the dirty little secret: the world is no different now than it ever was before. Sure, the problems we face are different, and perhaps more global than regional but there’s still suffering, death, hatred, and troubles. But there’s also love and kindness and compassion and solutions.

Tim, the only answer to your question is that your life is what you make it. If you’re concerned about global warming, then do what you can to stop it. Maybe even go into engineering or science and help produce new, renewable, sources of energy. If you’re concerned about terrorism then stop being silly, you’re more likely to be killed by a falling coconut. But if you really are concerned about destructive ideologies, then fight for tolerance. It might seem like you won’t make a difference, but sure as hell won’t if you don’t do anything.

But most of all, life is short, and it’s all we get. Enjoy it while you have it. How you enjoy it is completely up to you. Have fun figuring it out.

Sincerely,
Stuart Coleman

For more (and probably better) answers See here