Who Can Cope with Life’s Anxieties?

“WHY can’t the cleverest men of all countries get together and use their brains to make it a peaceful world? Why must there always be troubles and tensions somewhere?” These questions perturbed a noted actress. And it is not unlikely that many others have had similar thoughts. For people in general, life seems to be filled with such perplexing questions, as well as a host of anxieties.

Nobody needs to tell you that mankind faces monumental problems. The cost of living has soared. A breakdown in family life has led to increased divorce, broken homes and at least some loss of parental control over children. Multitudes face ill health, while others suffer due to shortages of food, goods and energy. And people world wide are restless, fearful, anxious about the future.

Think, for instance, about the cost of living. During 1979, the rate of inflation was 172.6 percent in Argentina, 32.4 percent in the Philippines and 27.5 percent in Greece. (U.S. News & World Report, Oct. 1, 1979) Anxiety over acquiring life’s necessities is understandable under such circumstances.

What about broken homes? In the United States, one in three marriages ends in divorce. The situation is similar in Russia, for the magazine Soviet Life has admitted: “On the average every third marriage is dissolved officially.” Surely, the present-day breakdown in family life produces many anxieties.

No well-informed person will deny that in many parts of the earth people face shortages of food and goods. And energy problems exist world wide. Add to all of this the stockpiling of nuclear weaponry, and there seems to be good reason for anxiety about the future. Therefore, you may be inclined to ask, Who can cope with life’s anxieties?