Is there more darkness than light?

"..in comparison, there is more darkness than there is light" ...

This comment was made recently by a fellow blogger I admire. It was in reference to positive and negative emotions and their role in our lives. It made me stop and think of the bigger picture. Is this true? Has our world taken a turn for the worse? Is there truly more darkness than there is light?

Since summer has just ended for the northern hemisphere, and winter is about to come, the statement does hold true in the literal sense. Winter days are shorter and there is more darkness. But that was not the intent of that statement.

So, back to the question: is the world experiencing more negativity than positive things? Are there more wars being fought? Are more people dying of natural and man-made causes? Is there more sorrow in the world than happiness?

If one was to read the headlines, the answer to these questions would be yes. Wars and natural calamities seem to be getting more and more common. The crime rate seems to be going up every year. Nations are spending more on military hardware than on social infrastrutures.The threat of terrorism seems to be increasing day by day. We face more tsunamis and worsening floods.

But if we all look into our own lives and experiences, each of us may come up with a different answer. Our answer will depend on how the events that happen around us affect us and our loved ones.

Personally for me, if people I care for are happy, then there is light. Otherwise, I go looking for a torch.