Giving Back

There are a lot of celebs that talk about giving back to the community. These are people that are not struggling and can pay their mortgages and have a surplus. There is a bit of arrogance in feeling superior to others less fortunate. Sure charity can be helpful; but sometimes it can feel like a put down.

We all need to have a bit of pride in being able to take care of ourselves. Without that we can get so low that goals don’t seem attainable. For many Native Americans in the Pueblos can attest. Living in a dry corner of the state that no one wants so the rest of the world can forget about them, has lead to despair. If there is no industry and no hope of being educated enough to join the rest of the world, why try?

We can do that to our own families and make them feel so despondent they no longer form goals. Or their goals are so low that it is too easy to achieve. What that does is give them an excuse to do much less than they are capable of, how sad is that?

What can we do to help our family and maybe others? Encouragement for one, in a way that is truthful and dignified, we need to tell our family members things that we like about them, their good qualities. We can find something positive to say about them. Men need to know they are respected, that is the most valuable thing to them. Women need to feel loved. It is out of love that we tell them to look in the mirror and take care of themselves. To get out of the house and take charge of their lives, sure they may resist at first, but they can’t say no one cared enough to tell things they needed to hear.

For our men we need to be careful. We don’t want to nag, and we don’t want to tear them down. We have to not be too emotional but stick to facts. Fact; you are talented at ‘X’ whatever they are good at. We need to praise our men in front of others. Especially other men and we have to tell their friends how proud we are of them.

To our friends we want to share any information that will help them. Bargains and other ways we can save money. We have to sensitive to the fact that they may not be able to go out and pay for dinners. Again helping with networking can be such a help. Of course we can’t help out everyone and don’t need to. There are government agencies in place that people can draw upon when they need help. If that is the case, don’t despair. Use it as a way to regroup and get back on our feet. If you do have a lot of free time, volunteer work can do much to lift your spirits.

We need to help lift each other up otherwise we can get so despondent. When things are this hard, we have to find the good in each other to keep going. This is another way we can give back, even if we are broke.