Change now..

What is most frustrating for me, is the fact that if things don't change things would only tend to get worse.

As things are at the moment, things seem to have no solution anytime soon. Structural changes are needed as soon as possible, if these these don't arrive things are seriously never to get better.

Yes, a wider segment of society as pushing for changes. In hand with that, some of the politicians are actually doing something. But, when you look at the changes made, or proposed, the realization that most of changes are merely cosmetic are self-evident.

The time for cosmetic changes has long since passed, and now what Mexico needs are deep and structural changes that help the country to face the future.

If we want to keep our position in the world, we need to make and apply changes that gives us the ability to better adapt to new circumstances. Other countries like China, Brazil, and India have already started to make these changes, and the results on their economies is outstanding.

Yes, there still plenty of inequality still to be seen on those countries. But, the are good signs that more people are coming out of poverty. It will take years, possibly decades, to eradicate poverty. And maybe, poverty will be eradicated, but something has to be done.

But, society at large should pressure more our politicians to make them aware that there to serve us. If left to their own devices, we have seen time and time again how they start acting as if society is here to serve them. Actions need to be taken to make sure that politicians understand that they are suppose to do OUR bidding. If would be naive to believe the current status quo will be in a matter of a few years. It will take some time, but it won't change all by itself.

The system is just as good as we make it.

Sense of community...

I find it rather sad that it's hard to really become involved in the community where you live in, because most of the services you need are to be found outside the community.

There are a lot of people are against having shops, banks and other of the kind of business that people use on regular basis arguing that it would disturb the peace and quiet of the community. Which, they shouldn't since and should make life more practical having things like banks and small shops that carter to the needs of the necessities of each particular community.

By letting businesses that carter to these needs to operate at each community, many problems would be solve. Transportation would be easier, since people wouldn't need to move as far. Thus saving time and money, and freeing people to actually do more.

Security would be improved, since people living there would have a greater sense of ownership over the community. Also would foster better relationships of the people living there, since using the services that are offered on the shops that operate at the community would bring individuals with the same interests together. And since people would naturally gather on these centers, people would have reasons to get to know other and share common interests rather that going somewhere else to do so.

Of course there should be limits to what kind of businesses, and their size, should be allowed to establish within each community. These should be based on what they offered, and the size of the community in question.

But, saying that commerce shouldn't be allowed in residential areas is detrimental to them. We are social by nature, and having plazas and parks where people can gather, are essential to the health and wellbeing of the community at large. These places become integral parts of the community, since it gives the people living in them a place to come together to talk, exchange ideas, and simply feel that they belong to the community where they live.

If the people are given the chance to get to know the people living at the community where they live, they become closer to the community and have the sense of belonging and ownership. This has the effect of making people to take care of the community they live in.

Most of the crime we see, comes from the social disintegration that comes of not having the sense of belonging to a group that makes us want to be better. Or, not wanting to take place of where we live.

Let's give people the chance of being proud of the community where they live. This is a big step forward to solving many of the problems we have.

Architect and builder...

Even though there are still people that don't do much other than just say how bad things are, and how things will never change, it's uplifting to see there are people who are acting to make things better.

What's best, the number of those who take action are increasing with time. The awareness that we can do something to make things work, and that we can actually do something to make our world a better place. That we don't have to wait, or depend, on our politicians to do something about the issues that concern us.

At the end, if we don't do what it takes to make things work no one else will.

We are the ones who are responsible of our life and our communities. The ones who can make it better are ourselves, and we must be aware that is up to us to make our life better. As much as we would like, no one else has the obligation to do anything for us. What we do for ourselves, and others, is up to each of us.

Is important to understand that each of us is the master of our own destiny. We make our way to the destiny we want to, with each step we take toward it. Each one of our actions brings with it consequences, with are the rewards or punishments we see as the end result.

We all have free will, but it takes courage to use it and face the consequences that come with the use of our free will. What we do comes from the choices we do through our life, and most of our choices that we must take are done so with no real knowledge of where those choices will take us. We must be constantly be adjusting to the new circumstances that arise with time and place.

There are no single formulas to face life. What works for some, doesn't work for others.

We like it or not, all comes down to what we choose to do. Even inaction is a personal choice, for which we must face the consequences of. What we choose not to do, may be the thing that someone else will choose to do whether we like it or not.

We'll make mistakes, but that shouldn't stop us for making things happen. Mistakes can be corrected, and we can learn from them.

At the end, we can choose what we make out of our life. But, it also takes the will to make things happen in order to get where we want to be. The most important thing in order to get where we want to be, is ourselves. No one else can get us where we want to be. Opportunities are only fruitful only to those who are willing to take them, and do something with them.

Each one of us, is the architect and builder of our destiny.