This is a long one, and there’s nothing cutesy-tootsy about it... but try to read through to the bottom.
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in day to day activities, responsibilities, hobbies, pleasures, chores, and such that we forget something very important…..
I’m guilty too. Days like today I think in third person, looking down upon myself as though I am so self centered (well, self including family and friends), so concentrated on myself and my family. There are so many other important things going on in the world, and I look down on myself for not being involved in any of them. My heart wants to be, but I find myself making excuses for not…. “I don’t have time,” and “I can’t afford it” are my two biggest excuses. They aren’t reasons, they are excuses.
Sure, right now I don’t have time to join the Peace Corps, I can’t afford to adopt an African baby (although if it didn’t cost $500,000 to do international adoption I’d do my best to adopt as many starving children as I could afford to care for). But I’m certain there’s something I could do.
What can I do to make a difference? Even a small difference is better than none at all. My first thought is to commit to donating a portion of all etsy sales to a charity… probably one dedicated to fighting world hunger, that’s where my heart is.
Every person has there own cause that’s near and dear to them…. mine are more world-wide than local. There’s the ASPCA for the animal lovers, local Women’s shelters for abuse survivors, a medical research charity for every disease ever known to man, etc. Ya just kinda pick with where your heart is.
I personally have a deep compassion for the less fortunate people in the world. Why global and not local, you might ask…. Because here in the good ole USA, we’ve got it MADE. No child in this country will starve due to lack of ability to get food, thanks to charities, churches, food stamps, WIC, and if all else fails… shelters, Family and Children Services, soup kitchens, foster homes… the list is endless. In the USA, even a homeless man who hasn’t even made an attempt to work in 20 years can still get a jacket to wear in the winter, shoes on his feet, and a belly full of food. Here in the USA, you are basically guaranteed medical care for any condition. For the poor homeless man, it may not be the best medical care… but it’s care nonetheless. Even the poor homeless man can get chemo if he’s diagnosed with cancer, or a cocktail if he’s diagnosed with aids… thanks to charities in the USA as well as public hospitals that are not allowed to turn away a patient due to there inability to pay.
I have an idea brewing, but I don’t like to share brand new ideas until I think them through and see if they’ll actually become something… so for now I’m off to think think think and pick a charity to donate a portion of my etsy sales to.
