Economic Survival Kit
When our financial health hits a barrier in the road, causing us to skid out of control, how do we deal with the very real pain and injury? Having an Essential Survival Kit for tough economic cycles enables us to live a spiritually abundant life even when experiencing money problems. A kit must contain the following:
Vital relationships – Being linked to a caring community of friends and family is like a soothing ointment for the bruises of financial pain. Re-connect with old friends through the internet, phone calls, visits or letters. Join a church small group or club. People can help us sustain hope even when the situation looks bleak.
Emotional verve – Strong inner resources come from exposure to positive, life-enhancing books, films, music, art, hobbies, nature and friends. It’s like an immune system boost. Rid your world of brutality in films, angry music, sensational press and lurid sensuality; they drag us down, draining our ability to cope with life. A beautiful sunset and moonrise will happen tonight whether the stock market falls or rises. Find positive experiences to refresh your soul and renew your mind, and schedule them more often.
Spiritual alignment – Connection to the Creator of the universe will release His life and power for good in our lives. If you’re about to lose heart, see the original Heart Specialist for the transformation you crave. Receiving His forgiveness, seeking to know Him, and experiencing His plan through our lives, gives us a magnificent purpose beyond any temporary financial setbacks.
Financial reserves and levels – Tough times are more bearable if we have put aside resources for a rainy day. Regardless, the habit of economizing can be learned quickly when necessary. Face up to the need for a change of habits or lifestyle during financial stress; the sooner you take action to downsize your expectations, quicker the pressure is relieved. Challenge yourself to live at a less expensive level temporarily – and do it with the joy of a new accomplishment!
As in all of life, our perspective on our finances will expand or limit our choices. Material goods and wealth are a huge part of our lives, but they are not the only part. A spiritual dimension exists which allows us to see beyond the crisis of the moment, aligning our actions with long-term values. It’s easy to say “Don’t stress out; it’s just money;” but without deep spiritual values, materialistic priorities will derail us in these tough times. Focus on the spiritual dimensions of relationships, positive emotions and connection with God to heal the financial wounds. Affirming these positive spiritual values creates energy to solve short-term money issues.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Fresh thinking for a new year
An open invitation to new experiences...
Like a child on his first visit to the seashore, with eyes, hands and soul open to drink in the new experience, we can move toward the coming year with excitement and hope: ready to explore, eager to shape the pliable sand as we please. We are on the edge of that epoch called a New Year. Confident expectation of being able to do positive good in this year yields the energy we need to face its challenges. What are the positive plans that can energize this New Year? Three shining values stand above the others.
1) Plan to grow - Like the concentric whorls on a seashell that grow larger year by year to accommodate the living creature inside, plan to grow your life. Expansion of heart, mind, skills and community involvement releases new energy. You choose which aspects of your life to grow and what direction to move toward; like that shelled creature, you are the architect of your home.
2) Live today for joy - Waves come in, waves go out, days come, days go. Be resolute about not falling into dull complacency from monotony. Notice instead the variations - and design your own joyful variations, like a child building sand castles. It is the very transience of the sand castles that brings delight to onlookers. I've watched strangers help my sons build a sea wall to protect their castles by the sea - holding onto joy in the middle of crisis is everybody's energy builder.
3) Link arms with like-minded people - Corals, those living creatures who have built the largest structures on our planet, are tiny organisms each linking to the next to form reefs. Individually, they are no larger than a chocolate chip (when feeding), but they build on the work of the previous generation and together have created unimaginable beauty. Our lives, our work, our interests, when linked with the effort of others, can create works of wonder.
Connecting with others, multiplying joy, and growing across many dimensions, will energize us and set a positive outlook for the New Year. Like the child at the end of his day on the seashore, sandy and tired but with a bucket of treasured shells and an internalized knowledge of waves, sand and saltwater creatures, may our experiences in 2008 bring us joy, results and relationships to treasure.
Like a child on his first visit to the seashore, with eyes, hands and soul open to drink in the new experience, we can move toward the coming year with excitement and hope: ready to explore, eager to shape the pliable sand as we please. We are on the edge of that epoch called a New Year. Confident expectation of being able to do positive good in this year yields the energy we need to face its challenges. What are the positive plans that can energize this New Year? Three shining values stand above the others.
1) Plan to grow - Like the concentric whorls on a seashell that grow larger year by year to accommodate the living creature inside, plan to grow your life. Expansion of heart, mind, skills and community involvement releases new energy. You choose which aspects of your life to grow and what direction to move toward; like that shelled creature, you are the architect of your home.
2) Live today for joy - Waves come in, waves go out, days come, days go. Be resolute about not falling into dull complacency from monotony. Notice instead the variations - and design your own joyful variations, like a child building sand castles. It is the very transience of the sand castles that brings delight to onlookers. I've watched strangers help my sons build a sea wall to protect their castles by the sea - holding onto joy in the middle of crisis is everybody's energy builder.
3) Link arms with like-minded people - Corals, those living creatures who have built the largest structures on our planet, are tiny organisms each linking to the next to form reefs. Individually, they are no larger than a chocolate chip (when feeding), but they build on the work of the previous generation and together have created unimaginable beauty. Our lives, our work, our interests, when linked with the effort of others, can create works of wonder.
Connecting with others, multiplying joy, and growing across many dimensions, will energize us and set a positive outlook for the New Year. Like the child at the end of his day on the seashore, sandy and tired but with a bucket of treasured shells and an internalized knowledge of waves, sand and saltwater creatures, may our experiences in 2008 bring us joy, results and relationships to treasure.
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