Empowering yourself in the face of adversity
Yesterday, there were a number of posts about the increasing number of Americans living in poverty. In fact, the number of Americans living in poverty today is higher than it has ever been.
Many Americans across the United States are living in tent cities while empty, foreclosed homes sit vacant.
We could blame the banks, the government, the wars overseas, Obama, Bush, or even Clinton. It can feel very overwhelming to realize this is happening. It is disempowering to realize that, individually, there is not much we can do to change the broad scope of the economic pain people are feeling.
People are hurting all over the world. I bet there are people in your own community who are suffering. You may be one of them.
Old paradigms and structures are failing. Many of us have made decisions and structured our lives around the paradigms and structures that can no longer support themselves.
It’s apparent that we cannot rely on government or businesses to “take care of us.” We have to take care of each other.
If you are fortunate enough to help someone less fortunate than you, I recommend doing something. It changes your worldview, brings light to another person, and giving opens you to receiving.
This weekend, my wife and the kids baked goodies for the local soup kitchen. Her rationale was, on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, to refocus herself and the kids away from the disempowering messages in the media reliving the pains of the past. Doing something tangible for someone — right here, right now — will help you feel empowered.
I wrote about this in my book How to Make Someone Feel Like a Million Bucks. If you’d like a copy of this eBook, leave a comment or contact me. In making someone feel like a million bucks, you end up making yourself feel like even more than that. Those good feelings then translate into attracting forces that create more good in your life and in the lives of everyone you inspire.
It is very important to remember not to sacrifice your own self in giving. The good Samaritan continued on his journey to do his business after he stopped to help the injured man. He did not give up his own welfare to help another, but ensured the injured man was cared for.
There is something you can do today — within your means — to help another who is less fortunate.
Imagine if we all did something TODAY that helped someone else out? Could we create a grassroots program to change the economic experiences across the world, one community at a time?
What do you do regularly to help people less fortunate? What can you do today?
