We human beings are blissfully forgetful – we do know deep down that things might not be going well in the world, that the planet might in a bad state, or that we have one problem or the other. We are very good at shoving all that aside and enjoying our morning coffee. Which is just as well – we might not be able to live without this quality.

However, sometimes it is good to remember. For having known people who suffered from real poverty, i can tell you: contrary to the capitalist creed, we are not given the same start. Those of us who are successful often have a structured and loving family and/or the opportunity and incentive to education and/or decent intellectual capacities.

When you’ve been badly fed as a child, your family is troubled, your youth was spent surviving emotional storms, what seems the obvious rational strategy to a peaceful, prosperous adult, might not be that obvious. You struggle from crisis to crisis, taking one bad decision after the other, wondering why these problems keep on happening to you.

And i’m talking about people who live here, in Belgium. God knows what it’s like when you live in a developing country and are not one of the lucky few. Probably economic darwinism is even more merciless there.

So sometimes it’s good to remember – to thank the dice that they rolled us a six – and maybe think of what we could do to even things out. Justice might not be a scientific concept, but it sure as hell is one that makes us human.

Options: donations, microcredits (Kiva, Triodos …), doing something for a charity with our skills (for me a website), generally exercising compassion