And so these were the words that comedian, Bill Hicks left to the world. It's just a ride. One of many summaries of life, but one that makes the most sense, as it's as simple as it is complex.

The world is an amusement park and life is the star attraction. The ride. When you go on the ride you'll think it's real, because that's how powerful the ride is. The ride is the same for everyone yet each person has their own personal experience. Some enjoy it, others don't, some spend their time on the ride feeling sick, some sail smoothly through the ride and feel satisfied when it's over. It goes up and down, around and around, it's scary at times and fun at others.

Now some people have been on the ride a very long time and they begin to question; "is this real or is this just a ride?" Others have remembered and they come back to remind us not to worry or ever be afraid, because it's just a ride. We silence these people with the powers that be. We have a lot invested in this ride. Without the ride we wouldn't have our money, our possessions, our family, our homes. The ride has to be real. But it's just a ride.

So to protect ourselves, we kill these people that try and tell us otherwise. That it's just a ride, which we can all enjoy: John Lennon, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King. We're so tied up in our own hate and bitterness. But it doesn't matter because it's just a ride and we can change it anytime we want. It's just a matter of choice. A choice between fear and love.

Now the eyes of fear are telling us to put bigger locks on our door, buy guns, put up walls to keep our neighbour's out. The eyes of love see us all as one. But how can we make the ride better? Take all the money we spend on weapons and defence research to defend us against the so-called tyrants and terrorists of the world, when we are the terrorists. Instead of being so full of fear, take a leap and use this money to feed, clothe and educate the poor of the world, which it would do many times over.

All it is, is a matter of choice. We come across them everyday, but are to tied up in our own world to care about them. Whether it's saying yes to something you would have previously ignored, offering what we have, to be used as a tool for bettering the world. But ultimately it's just a ride, what we do while we're on the ride is our choice.

Society needs more idealism.