JUST WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE?
by Shari Harris
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A Group Called Future Crunch Brings Us
Good News from 2020
"There’s been so much loss, grief and heartbreak in 2020 that it feels almost wrong to be compiling our traditional annual list of good news. Things can and do fall apart, and this year it felt like they really did. Amazing as it may seem however, there were also big wins for conservation, living standards, peace, safety and human rights, clean energy, and yes, even global health.
"Progress isn’t a straight line and it doesn’t happen by magic. It depends on people who, even during the darkest of times, believe that it’s possible to make the world a better place and who are willing to roll up their sleeves to do the work, even when the cameras aren’t watching. These are their stories, and off the back of a horrible year, we think it’s more important than ever to celebrate them."
Printed in "The Afterlife Report" by Victor and Wendy Zammit
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"We are a team of science communicators based in Melbourne, Australia. We curate stories of human progress, and support small charities using science and technology to make the world a better place.
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Greetings!
When I read this "good news" article about progress made in 2020, I knew I wanted to share it with you and end the year on a positive note about accomplishments around the world! We've been inundated with bad news for months, so to come across this felt so refreshing.
I receive a weekly email newsletter called "Friday Afterlife Report" from Victor and Wendy Zammit, which always has interesting articles. The Zammits are the authors of A Lawyer Presents the Evidence for the Afterlife. (victorzammit.com)
Their December 25 newsletter included an article called "99 Good News Stories From 2020 You Probably Didn't Hear About," from the group called Future Crunch.
The article lists 99 stories in five different categories. Below, I have listed the first four items under each category to give you an idea of what type of good news is included, such as:
- increased ocean conservation
- elimination of certain Third World diseases
- reduction in terrorism worldwide
- improved living standards worldwide
- advancement in clean energy
The accomplishments show progress in areas that offer hope for the world in the years to come! There is a link at the bottom to access the entire article so you can read all 99 items if you are interested in more good news!
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Be well and enjoy your amazing life!
Sending my love,
Shari
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Best wishes to you for the brand new year ahead
and a fresh start for us, our country, and the world in 2021!
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The examples below are copied verbatim from
"99 Good News Stories From 2020 You Probably Didn't Hear About."
See the link at the end to read the entire article.
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Four Good News Stories About Conservation
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1. "The British territory of Tristan da Cunha created the largest protected area in the Atlantic Ocean, and the fourth largest in the world. The 687,000 km² sanctuary is a no-take zone, meaning fishing and other harmful activities are now prohibited, to protect wildlife found on and around the chain of islands, including albatross, penguins, whales, sharks and seals."
2. "Belize added another jewel in its crown as a global leader in ocean conservation. In August, it increased the size of its Sapodilla Cayes reserve to 1,300 km² to encompass the Cayman Crown, one of the best preserved reef ecosystems in the region, home to many endangered species of corals, as well as previously undocumented reef types."
3. "In October, the Seychelles reported that one third of its territorial waters are now protected, covering 410,000 km² of ocean (an area larger than Germany) and Samoa launched an ambitious new ocean conservation strategy, with a commitment to create 36,000 km² of new fully-protected marine protected areas by 2025, 30% of its territorial waters."
4. "In November, 14 countries, responsible for 40% of the world’s coastlines, signed a new pledge to end overfishing, restore fish populations and stop the flow of ocean plastic in the next 10 years. Each of the countries also committed to making sure all oceans within their national jurisdictions, a combined area roughly the size of Africa, are managed sustainably by 2025."
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Four Good News Stories About Global Health
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28. "At the beginning of this year, the only thing the world’s scientists knew about the novel coronavirus was its genetic profile. Less than twelve months later, Margaret Keenan rolled up her sleeve at a hospital in Coventry, a week before her 91st birthday, to become the first patient injected with a globally approved Covid-19 vaccine, effectively kickstarting humanity’s fightback. It’s one of the greatest medical achievements of all time."
29. "In 2020 Myanmar became the second country in southeast Asia to completely eliminate trachoma, the world's leading infectious cause of blindness. The achievement was part of a bigger global trend: the number of people at risk from trachoma has been reduced by 92% in the last 17 years, from 1.5 billion in 2002 to 137 million in 2020, and 13 countries have now eliminated it altogether."
30. "Togo became the first African country to officially eliminate sleeping sickness, a parasitic disease that's fatal if untreated. The achievement comes after more than two decades of sustained political commitment, surveillance and screening, and is also part of a bigger success story - there are now fewer than 1,000 cases of sleeping sickness globally."
31. "Senegal reported that it has cut its rate of stunting prevalence in half, from 34.4% to 18.8%, since 2002. Improved access to post-natal care, education, water and sanitation now means the country has the lowest stunting burden in French-speaking West Africa."
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Four Good News Stories About
Peace, Safety, and Human Rights
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44. "A new report by the Global Peace Index showed that since 2007, the majority of the world’s countries - 113 countries - have reduced their armed forces, 100 have reduced military expenditure and both imports and exports of weapons have reached their lowest levels since 2009."
45. "Remember the good old days when terrorism was front page news? The 2020 Global Terrorism Index reported that deaths from terrorism fell for the fifth consecutive year, and that the terrorism situation had improved in 103 countries - the highest number of countries to record a year-on-year improvement since the inception of the index."
46. "The Falkland Islands announced this year that it had cleared all its landmines, nearly 40 years after the end of the war between Britain and Argentina. Tens of thousands of mines and bombs have been removed since 2009 by a team of specialist de-miners, many of them from Zimbabwe. "We never thought the islands would be completely mine free, this is a momentous change."
47. "Italy abolished anti-immigrant decrees installed by former populists, and reinstated humanitarian protection for migrants and refugees. The government has also cut the time needed for citizenship applications from four years to three. "Tonight a wall comes down. Onward towards a country with more humanity."
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Four Good News Stories About Living Standards
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64."The coronavirus pandemic raised serious questions about whether authoritarian regimes were better at handling pandemics than democratic societies. They weren’t. Eight of the top 10 most successful responses came from democracies. Success appeared to rely less on being able to order people into submission, and more on having a high degree of trust and societal compliance."
65. "China's birthrate fell to its lowest level since 1949, and is now below that of England and Wales. That’s representative of a bigger global trend - a major new study revealed that the average number of children a woman gives birth to has fallen from 4.7 in 1950 to 2.4 in 2017, and will drop below 1.7 by 2100. That means that global population is now on track to peak in the middle of the 21st century."
66. "Did global inequality in the last two decades get worse, or better? New research this year showed that during the 2000s and 2010s, the global Gini coefficient dropped by 15 points and the earnings share of the world's poorest half doubled. The reason this feels so surprising is that most of us hardly ever read journalism written by people from Asia, Africa and South America."
67. "This year’s Social Progress Index, which measures the social and economic performance of all the world's countries over time, revealed that the world had improved on 8 of 12 key measures in the past decade. 95% of countries improved by one point or more, and only 2% declined."
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Four Good News Stories About Clean Energy
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79. "2020 put humanity back in the global climate change fight. Carbon emissions fell by 2.4 billion tons, or 7%, the largest drop ever recorded. The decline was most pronounced in the United States (-12%) Europe (-11%) and India (-9%). It’s important not to be triumphalist: these reductions have come at the expense of a great deal of human suffering. But we can welcome the result, even if we abhor the way in which it has been delivered."
80. "Although overall energy demand plummeted this year, clean energy proved remarkably resilient. Wind, solar and hydro accounted for nearly 90% of new electricity infrastructure installed in 2020 and net installed renewable capacity grew by 4% overall, reaching almost 200 GW."
81. "Prices continued to fall too. Between June 2019 and June 2020, the average cost of electricity for onshore wind fell by 9% to $44/MWh, and by 4% for utility scale solar, to $50/MWh. The cost decline for lithium-ion battery packs was even more impressive - they fell to $137 per kWh in 2020, an inflation-adjusted decline of 13% since 2019. Clean energy is now the cheapest form of new energy for three quarters of global GDP."
82. "2020 saw an unprecedented acceleration in national climate pledges. South Korea became the first Asian country to set a 2050 net zero emissions goal, followed by Japan, and then most importantly, China, which committed to net zero by 2060 - perhaps the single most important development in climate policy since the Paris Agreement."
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Affirmations for the New Year
Plant Seeds for Growth
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"I see this day as a positive, new beginning.
(It's never too late to have a new beginning.)"
"Today and tomorrow can be very different from yesterday if you can let yesterday go and focus on today. Today and Tomorrow are about your NOW vibration, and you have complete control over that. Look for things to feel good about, and watch how everything in your life will unfold to reflect that good-feeling vibration."
The Teachings of Abraham Well-Being Cards, Esther and Jerry Hicks
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"My future isn't about my past. (Life is only about NOW.)"
"Nothing that has ever happened has anything to do with now, unless, in my now, I continue to think and speak about it. Fresh new thoughts today will always give me a fresh new experience."
The Teachings of Abraham Well-Being Cards, Esther and Jerry Hicks
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"I release all criticism."
"I only give out that which I wish to receive in return.
My love and acceptance of others is mirrored to me in every moment."
Power Thought Cards, Louise Hay
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"All is well in my world."
"Everything is working out for my highest good.
Out of this situation only good will come. I am safe!"
Power Thought Cards, Louise Hay
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Just Who Do We Think We Are?
Shari Says...
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I believe we are eternal spiritual beings who are currently
living one of our many lives on Earth and who are the co-creators
of our experiences through our thoughts and beliefs.
Shari Harris
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William Buhlman
"If people really knew what they were, there'd be no wars, there'd be no poverty, there'd be none of the ills that face humanity today."
William Buhlmann
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Please feel free to forward this newsletter to friends who may be interested!
Others are welcome to sign up.
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Previous Issues of "Just Who Do We Think We Are?" are available on
#1 February 15, 2020, Dr. Brian Weiss
#2 March 1, 2020, Edgar Cayce
#3 March 26, 2020, Abraham (Esther Hicks), Part 1
#4 April 7, 2020, Abraham (Esther Hicks), Part 2
#5 April 22, 2020, Past Life Story Series: Robert Snow/Carroll Beckwith
#6 May 5, 2020, Past Life Story Series: Jenny Cockell/Mary Sutton
#7 May 20, 2020, We Are Not Here By Accident
#8 June 1, 2020, Children's Past Lives (Carol Bowman)
#9 June 22, 2020, More Children's Past Lives (Ian Stevenson and Jim B. Tucker)
#10 July 2, 2020, Four Stories of Children Who Remembered a Past Life
#11 July 23, 2020, Near Death Experiences/Raymond Moody
#12 August 9, 2020, Near Death Experiences/Anita Moorjani
#13 August 28, 2020, We Are Co-Creators
#14 September 20, 2020, Past Life Series: John B. Gordon/Jeff Keene
#15 October 4, 2020, Answers About the Afterlife/Bob Olson
#16 October 25, 2020, Messages From Loved Ones Lost on 9/11
#17 November 22, 2020, Soulmates/Dr. Brian Weiss
#18 December 13,2020, Five Lives Remembered/Delores Cannon
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