"What am I doing to help any of those millions of starving children? Very little."
Feeling guilty isn't solving the problem, however. Guilt is just a pre-cursor to either resolve or apathy. If you don't do anything about it, you either get into a loop of guilt-> apathy-> guilt or you choose to ignore the problem (as you say your friends do).
Any action you take towards true progress for those in need, no matter how small, is good.
"The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step"
That's true. In my case, the emotion gives me an opportunity to reflect and determine a course of action.
My original intention for discussing my guilt was that I know it's a common feeling, and I wonder why so many people take action/interest for high profile cases. It's likely the overwhelming sense of apathy towards "saving the world" that people zoom in on particular people that they're familiar with.
But I still can't help feeling guilty for trying to help someone I know, versus a very needy person I don't. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to not feel this way. Ignoring the emotion only seems to bury it, only for it to resurface in the future (similar to your guilt->apathy->guilt cycle). One thing is sure though, even after I help someone, I still feel the sense of guilt and frustration that pairs knowing the rest of the world is still in need.
Like you said, any progress, no matter how small, is good!
Feeling guilty isn't solving the problem, however. Guilt is just a pre-cursor to either resolve or apathy. If you don't do anything about it, you either get into a loop of guilt-> apathy-> guilt or you choose to ignore the problem (as you say your friends do).
Any action you take towards true progress for those in need, no matter how small, is good.
"The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step"