Wednesday, October 15, 2008

I am so rich - are you?

Good morning! I don't have a lot of time to write this morning. It's 6:47 am and I'm running behind, trying to get ready for work. You know the drill...get up in the morning, bathe, dress, find all your stuff, grab some breakfast, commute for 45 minutes to an hour, work at least eight hours, maybe through lunch, commute back, look at all the stuff you didn't do before you left that morning, push it aside, start dinner... Yeah, you know the drill.

Wow! I am SO rich!

There are so many people who don't have a reason to set a clock in the morning, no job to go to...or maybe they have a job that's mind-numbingly dull or back-breaking hard...or one where no one appreciates them...or that doesn't pay them enough. There are parents who work sick and who can't afford to buy medicine...children who go to school hungry...people without health insurance who just don't go to the doctor because there's no way they can afford to pay for it. And there are people for whom all of this is a foreign language because they can't even imagine a world where everyone's work isn't back breaking and where the best you can hope for is enough to eat today...maybe.

Yes, I am rich...so rich I can't count it all. And I feel like a schmuck when I think of all the times I complain about something I don't have. Because let's face it...I don't need anything I don't already have. I'm clothed, sheltered, fed, employed, medicated as needed, and loved. Wealthy beyond my wildest dreams, I tell you, and grateful beyond words.

I registered my blog with Blog Action Day and the topic is poverty. I know poverty intimately; I've been there...not so much financial poverty (although I've seen my share of days with less-than-abundant resources), but poverty of the spirit, the kind that keeps you poor, destitute, and broken no matter how much money you have. And I know that, as odd as it may seem, one of the best ways to break the cycle of spiritual poverty is to act rich...to give away what you think you don't have. Tired? No energy? Do something for someone. No money? Give some away...even a nickle in someone's expired parking meter. Running low on food? Invite a friend to share your sandwich at lunch. For those of us who have so much - and that's just about everyone reading this blog - we have opportunities every day to enrich the lives of others while feeding our own sense of wealth, of gratitude, of enough.

I'm going to hustle my butt up from here and go to work now. We're having a food drive at work and I'm going to take some canned goods to work with me. As I pack each can into the box, I'll add a little blessing. "May you be blessed with riches beyond your wildest dreams."

Just like me.

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:03 PM

    Hey,
    Lucky me, I decided to read your blog last night and as lady luck would have it there was an email waiting for me announcing this when I woke up. you have a good point.we are rich;food,clothes,shelter,education,love. Oh yes rich beyond many peoples imagining.
    Thank you for your support of our local pagan pantry. Feelin' rich yet?


    love you
    Sarah Davenport

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  2. Anonymous12:45 PM

    You hit the nail on the head when you explained the cycle of poverty of spirit and how to break it.
    We get so caught up in the greed infused culture that live in and don't realize that it's poisoned our outlook, causing us to loose focus on what we DO have!

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  3. Thanks for the comments, Sarah and Anonymous...help spread the wealth...and thanks for helping me add to the food bank!

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  4. Anonymous8:54 AM

    Beautifully said, thank you. We could all stand to focus a little more on what we do have instead of everything the media tells us we should want.

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  5. Firehorse...great to see you here and thanks for the comments. Another $1 in the pot, and another intelligent participant in the conversation...both a blessing.

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