What's Up With the World?

Life is hard. We know that. The Buddhists say "life is suffering." But I prefer what Christ said better, "I come to bring you life and life ABUNDANT." Nevertheless, we are living in trying times, let's put that, scary times. I'm coping by living in denial. I put my 401K statements in a folder unopened. I refuse to get caught up in the consciousness of lack. I know my life and my material surroundings are not dependent on the world. I know they are mine by the grace of God. Still the news and the chatter leads us to fear and from fear we quickly leap to insanity.

I like to remember that we are blessed living in the good ol' U.S.A. True suffering is unknown for most of us here and whether we lose our IRA or our 401K we are still better off than most of the world. This week I saw a reference to an article in the New York Times by Ben Stein entitled, "They Told Me That Madoff Never Lost Money." The part that grabbed me was the conclusion.

"We are more than our investments. We are more than the year-to-year or day-by-day changes in our net worth. We are what we do for charity. We are how we treat our family and friends. We are how we treat our dogs and cats. We are what we do for our community and our nation. If you had $100 million or $100,000 a year ago and now you have a lot less, you are still the same person. You are not a balance sheet, at least not one denominated in money, as was explained to me recently.

Losing and making money are not moral issues so long as you are being honest. You may have a lot less money as this year ends than you did two years ago. But you are just as good or bad a person as you were then. It is a myth that money determines who you are, and if you have gotten over that myth by now, then 2008 will have been a very good year."

This is how I chose to view life. There is a lot we can do "out there" for good. A lot of folks need help and we can still help them. Whether it is recycling, donating unneeded items, volunteering to take meals to shut-ends, feed the hungry, teach reading... We don't need a lot to help a lot. So I'm warning everyone, don't come whining to me. When you feel sorry for yourself, just start helping someone with less. As one of my favorite musicians, Jana Stanfield wrote, "I can not do all the good that the world needs, but the world needs all the good I can do." Amen, Sister!