You are given many opportunities in life to choose to be a victim or creator. When you choose to be a victim, the world is a cold and difficult place. “They” did things to you which caused all of your pain and suffering. “They” are wrong and bad, and life is terrible as long as “they” are around. Or you may blame yourself for all your problems, thus internalizing(内化)your victimization. The truth is, your life is likely to stay that way as long as you feel a need to blame yourself or others.

Those who choose to be creators look at life quite differently. They know there are people who might like to control their lives, but they don’t let this get in the way. They know they have their weaknesses, yet they don’t blame themselves when they fail. Whatever happens, they have choice in the matter. They believe their dance with each moment of life is a gift and that storms are a natural part of life which can bring the rain needed for their growth.

Victims and creators live in the same physical world and deal with many of the same physical realities, yet their experience of life is worlds apart. Victims relish(沉溺)in anger, guilt, and other emotions that cause others——and even themselves——to feel like victims, too. Creators willingly choose love, inspiration, and other qualities which inspire not only themselves, but all around them. Both victims and creators always have choice to determine the direction of their lives.

In reality, all of us play the victim or the creator at various points in our lives. One person, on losing a job or a special relationship, may feel as if it is the end of the world and sink into terrible suffering for months, years, or even a lifetime. Another with the same experience may choose to first experience the sadness, then accept the loss and soon move on to be a powerful creative force in his life.

In every moment and every situation, you can choose to have fuller, richer life by setting a clear goal to change the victim within, and by inviting into your life the powerful creator that you are.

If you were to see a cold，hungry cat in front of your house，would you feed it or walk away？Most people would walk away instead of taking the time to make sure the cat is okay. 【小题1】 They usually have so much to deal with in their daily life as to ignore their surroundings.

Now here’s another question: If you see a group of kids hitting and abusing an animal，would you stop them？【小题2】 Some people do not believe that animal abuse is a big issue.

Every day animals are abused in their homes or on the streets. It seems as if politicians do nothing to stop this issue. Everyone is worried about education and global warming. What about animals？【小题3】 These are the rights that allow animals a place to stay，a shelter if they have no place to stay，the right not to be abused and many other rights. Are we taking away animals’ right by not giving them a place to stay？Yes，we are. Since I was born，my mother，my sister and I have taken in over fifty homeless cats，fed them，cleaned them and sent them to good families.

Some people probably give different views，saying，“【小题4】” It’s true. There are people in the world that need help but we cannot forget the animals. We are all living on this Earth together，why not help each other?

【小题5】 You can volunteer at your local animal shelter，raise money for animal shelters，and inform your community about animal abuse. You can easily buy a cheap box of dry cat/dog food to feed the animals.

In a classic episode of The Simpsons, Homer’s class reunion ends in shame when one of Homer’s guilty secrets is exposed: he never graduated from high school. To get his diploma, he must pass a science test. As he sits down to retake the exam, he holds one of his trademark dialogues with his brain. “All right, brain. You don’t like me and I don’t like you. But let’s just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.”

Many a true word is spoken as a joke. Homer Simpson’s Everyman character really is an Everyman. For most people, engaging in the kind of effortful thinking that is required to pass a science test feels too much like hard work. It is so much easier to quit and let the brain’s autopilot take over.

And no wonder. Evolution has blessed the human brain with all kinds of mental shortcuts that make life manageable. If we had to think about every action or weigh up every decision, we would break down. As a result, certain ideas and modes of thinking come naturally to us, such as effortless thinking.

But at huge cost. Our mental shortcuts work fine at the level of individuals and small-scale societies, but in an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, they are a danger to society. Effortless thinking is at the root of many of the modern world’s most serious problems: terrorism, hatred, inequality and religious extremism. All are caused by people disengaging their critical thinking and going with their gut (非理性的) feeling.

Everybody is capable of gut feeling, but also of the critical thinking. Both thinking styles are needed to make the world go round. Unfortunately, the latter requires training that is unavailable or unappealing to many people.

One of the bright spots in 2017 was the start of a movement called the March For Science. Those who believe in the power of science need to keep on marching, or give more power to people who don’t much like their own brains — or other people’s.