In our world of so many daily cares, it's surprising how much we really tend to overlook. As a child, my mother taught me to respect nature, not to litter and to care for the animals. Of course, this wasn't all she taught me but her teachings instilled in me values and respect for what many people take for granted.

Our world is filled with so many problems that need not exist if only we were to adopt a more conscientious lifestyle. Take hunger for example. It has always bothered me to see how much food is wasted. We cook our meals, clean up and put the leftovers in the fridge only to find ourselves feeding the garbage can a few days later. Look at the waste created by restaurants. Instead of employees being allowed to take food home for their families or even as scraps for their pets, most daily foodstuff is wastefully disposed of. Isn't it better to give it away rather than feed the dumpster? With so much hunger in the world, why should food be thrown away?

Perhaps we have more than we need but there are always others who are less fortunate. Many needy people depend upon the local soup kitchen or homeless shelter for a warm meal and there are others who aren't even that fortunate, yet we as a society continue to waste. Most of us have an "I'll buy more," attitude. But what about those who can't just run out and buy more? Even if you are financially able to purchase at your leisure with no need for a budget, that still doesn't validate being wasteful. We have become so consumed with our personal cares that the needs of our fellow beings and the world upon which we live are a distant fog. It is time that we awaken from our dream-like state of existence and face our world of many cares directly.

Our government continues to spend millions, perhaps billions of dollars in space exploration, in search of information to explain the formation of our planets, our solar system and to search for intelligent life along with other Earth-like planets. Like many other pioneer explorer types out there, I too have a curious, scientific nature. I want to know what's out there also. I'm all for understanding our origins and gaining knowledge of what lies beyond the confines of our planetary system but not at the expense of depleting our planet's resources and the wealth that could be used to ease the suffering of the people of this world who are homeless, jobless and hungry. What good will it do to discover our origins if we destroy ourselves and our planet in that quest? We have to question the logic of such choices and wonder what lies beneath the surface of a fervent and costly search for knowledge. Perhaps at the heart of the matter lies government competitiveness - the race for 1st Place - which is not a totally unreasonable assumption.

The ravage of war takes its toll in too many ways. The first being the senseless loss of life. In no way can the multitude of lives lost throughout our planet's history of warfare be rationalized. It is simply unacceptable yet it continues. Governments spend unmeasurable amounts of money developing weapons technology. Countries are destroyed through war and then millions more are spent to rebuild. Once again, where is the logic. Bringing about mass destruction and then assisting to rebuild what has been destroyed is little comfort to those who have lost their loved ones. Buildings can be constructed - human lives cannot be restored through any amount of money. Humankind continues to wage war and kill each other in the name of religion - in the name of justice - in the name of revenge. It doesn't matter under what guise war is waged. War is war. It is humanity taking the lives of their fellow beings and to what end? Will humanity eventually destroy themselves with the weapons of greed, anger, jealousy and selfishness? Will the almighty desire for wealth and power ultimately deliver all of humanity into the arms of the grim reaper or will humankind awake from the walking sleep that keeps us captive before it is too late? Only time will tell. We are a people of great potential - all of us who inhabit this beautiful planet we call home. Let us reach out to one another in peace and love.

Darlene Zagata is a freelance writer and author of two books, "Aftertaste: A Collection of Poems" and "The Choosing." She is also a monthly columnist and editor for the print publication Moon Shadows Magazine. Visit Darlene's website at http://darlenezagata.tripod.com or contact Darlene at darzagata@yahoo.com