Sweet Soliloquies

Today’s question from our benevolent leader Jamie Ridler is rich with possibility:

What do you wish to share?

Without going into detail, I can say that we’ve had a rough time of it lately.  Struggling just to keep up, pay the bills, feed ourselves and not fall in too deep.  There are moments when I’d like to jump off the mountain of responsibilities, let someone else deal and not care anymore.  I then, of course, come back to myself and think about what we can do to stay afloat, stay sane.  Then, there are other moments, when it is clear I should be focusing not only on what we have, counting our many blessings, but also on what we can do.  We need to be truly thankful but we also need to give back, even when we think we have nothing to give.

What can we do for others that will cost us little financially but benefit those involved emotionally, mentally and physically?  I’d like to share with you a few activities my family will be engaging in:

• Donating some of the following items to charitable organizations:  clothing, household items, out-of-prescription eyeglasses, books, etc.
• Buying a sandwich and drink for one of the persons who are homeless who camp for the day around the building where I work.
• Donating a book to a children’s organization the next time we purchase one from Barnes & Noble or other bookstore and/or donate some of our own books to any number of organizations.
• Cutting my Caribou Coffee or Starbucks coffee consumption back (I should be doing this anyway) and use the money I would have spent on coffee to purchase a coat for a child through the winter coat program we have at work.
• Sending a letter to one of our troops expressing our gratitude for their service.
• Spending time at a neighborhood cat shelter showing some love to those friendly felines.
• Add here…

These are probably not new ideas for you, but I wanted to share them and make a  written commitment.  They might also spark other ideas you might want to consider trying.  If we focus on the needs of others, we’re less likely to wallow and stress about our own.  We should not neglect our family or ourselves, but channel our energy into a positive action which I believe will benefit everyone.

Now, before I visit my wishcasting sisters and brothers, I’d like to share with you a few photos of part of my family, just because I love them so much.

My son home sick from school and Kali on the job, comforting her human.

Devi, our beautiful black Halloween cat.

You’ll find more shared wishes here.