The world is really just a whole bunch of individuals. So whenever one of us has these moments of reflection that lead us away from hatred, that is an example of the world healing :)
We can’t really draw any bigger conclusions based on this information, like if across the world more people are going one way or the other.
But the average global trend doesn’t need to be encouraging for us to be encouraging. On our little level, in our local community, with the people who see us and hear us in our daily lives - we can keep pushing for more positivity and healing right here.
Even just sharing this story of your acquaintance making progress is encouraging, so thank you!