Welcome to life.

Sorry bout the wisecrack at the beginning, but i am a cynic at heart.

I can see your perspective, I know how you're feeling, but there usually a second side to things, even though a peacenik like me is a bit narrow minded.

The majority of the times i felt helpless was when I felt that my life was not in my control. *possible offence by my personal views - delete if neccisary*
I had lost my faith in most religions, including my own, and so I I was somewhat despondant and lethargic; to put it simply, flat.
I had found a solution, a cause for why I felt helpless.
I too was worried about what was going on in the world, but I realised I have enough problems of my own, most of them rather petty, (new vid card, money, etc.) which sometimes makes it worse.

It is touching that you care for your friend and his son, but see the glass half full for a moment. from what you describe, it could be worse. We could be in 1943 fighting the second world war. (yes i know, the internet wouldn't exsist yet)
There was an almost guarunteed death. that or the dardinelles campaign of the first world war.

So things could be worse. you may feel like a sadistic mafia plot, stuck in a glass box left to suffocate, but fear not. I know of very few unbreakable transparent materials.

-Love Shark

You feel powerless. That's okay. It's also pretty accurate. You'll just have to get used to it, I suppose. Don't let yourself despair though. Find beauty and pleasure in the world around you. Not everything is always so bad. Marvel at the architectural wonders in your city (the CN Tower comes to mind). Enjoy a sunset. Listen to some good music. There are so many wonderful things in the world that you mustn't forget about. And, although you may not be able to bring about radical change in the world, you aren't totally powerless. Help an old lady cross the street. Smile at people. Little things like that can have a greater impact than most people would imagine. You just can't see the end result.

In the end, it's focus issue. If you always forcus on those negative things you can't change then you will likely remain glum. Rather you should fix what you can and enjoy the good things. Certainly you should aspire to higher levels but don't get so caught up in the "big picture" that you lose sight of everything else.

One of the guides to life, is to focus on the things you can change and not on the things you cannot. Otherwise you are just wasting energy on a pointless excercise that could be utilized more positively somewhere else. Take the unchangable things on board but don't focus on them, learn to work around them.

clearly words of wisdom from all, and LS you were right that is life, making it all the more annoying. i mean stage or step i can get through it and light at the end of the tunnel, life more like finding lamps or lighting lamps in the tunnel.

But often i do try to enjoy life in my wierd ways (Dont go there, you have a sick mind if you think that ) but to me its like trying to enjoy sunday whena aful monday is coming up.

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I totally agree with Mustang - why waste your energy (and nerves) on things you can't thange? It's your life and wellbeing you should be most concerned about. Others do the same. Of course, if you can provide assistance without any harm to yourself, by all means, do so (especially if it makes you feel better), but if not - forget it - you can't help everyone. Even if you tried, you'd be considered strange at best and a fool at worst. Life's cruel (good that it's short )

Life is only given once ... and most often by accident

Some people have to kill others. I used to kill people for a living. (Secret Government work, cant say any more for obvious reasons)

I'm not sure whether to take that seriously or not...

I'm with Mustang and zlo. I've encountered situations like that before. It might seem callous to just "not care" and focus your energies on something different, but it really is the only practical way to deal with these things.

i know.... it just seems wrong that i cant change so many things