All I need is some extra money to pay some bills, buy a few
essentials, a new car would be nice, but that’s not going to happen. From time to time everyone needs a little
extra help to smooth over the hard times, get a little cushion between paychecks
so the kids don’t have to eat watered down chicken soup or macaroni and cheese
three times a day. Most of us have been
there and most of us have someone we can turn to in times of great stress. For those who do not, life can be very stressful
and very difficult indeed; I am empathetic to their plight, having had to deal
with the reality of financial stress more than once and not having anyone to
turn to.
The idea of charity has been heavy on my mind, especially
over the Christmas season when the entire season prompts us to look outward, be
kind, be giving but how can one be giving when one has nothing to give? The quick answer: We all have something to give. Even the most destitute of our brothers and
sisters have something to offer, they may not understand or know how but it’s
there, perhaps well hidden and obscured by layers of self-doubt, financial
clouds, depression or mental illness but it’s there. The value of a human being is the ultimate
value of all things or at least it should be.
Too often we discount the feelings of others, slash the price of suffering,
or simple discard the plight of another hurting soul just because we don’t want
to feel uncomfortable.
My current financial dilemma pales in comparison to the
anguish and sorrow of so many, leaving me with a slight disgusting taste that
has affected my ability to enjoy New Year’s Day. How can I enjoy the rose bowl parade or the
twenty five football games when I feel marginally guilty about having so much
and they have so little? How can I revel
in the finger foods, or look forward to the midnight snacks as the New Year
tolls anew, when there are they who have no joy, no companionship, no hope?
I’m not one to make resolutions, I try throughout the year
to gauge my life, changing those annoying habits, altering the perceptions that
cause me to be less than I could be or should be. This year however I feel the need to resolve
to be a better human being, less selfish toward those in need. Who am I to judge, who am I that I cannot
spare a dime for a brother or sister in need?
I resolve to look beyond myself, look past my wants and be more resolute
in my resolve to restore the wretched and wayfaring.
The fiscal cliff means nothing to those without. My desire for high interest loans from a
Guido I do not know, so I can enjoy a few finger foods forged with felicitous fingers
should cause me pause, and it does. What’s
really important in life is not the despicable leaders who fail to lead and
hostage our future for their own personal gain, it’s important but not so that
we should forget those in real jeopardy.
Our neighbor, the widow with her lawn overgrown, the family in distress,
the homeless guy pushing his shopping cart, the teenager wandering the streets,
the list is very long and very sorrow filled.
We have the resources, we have the time, we have the money. What we don’t have is the resolve.
Again I resolve to open my eyes at the worried looks of my
neighbors, seeing the pain in ones walk or the anguish deep within a falsetto
smile. I resolve to be more caring, more
patient and to act in such a manner that others will know of my resolve to
help. The answer is not in government,
not in social programs but in the generosity of soul to soul, heart to heart,
being able to look respectfully into the eyes of those in need and realize we
are all in need, sharing that understanding and resolving to grow together,
build each other until all are well and happy.
Happy (guilty conscience) New Year.
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