In this time in the USA when all media is tuned into economy, recession, doom, gloom… I sit and ponder about all the people who are worrying about money, jobs, etc.
I remember when I was in their shoes. It was during the dot.com bust in the early 2000’s. My husband and I were both unemployed. We had children to feed – and I had only given birth to my last baby three weeks earlier when I was given the news of my division closing down. Our choices looked slim.
There were many debt collectors calling. Bills were late. I was losing sleep. All seemed so hopeless. My husband (the rock of the family) looked at me one day and just asked, “Mary, what is the worst that could happen? If we lost everything – so what? Do they take you to debtors jail? No. Do they take your children away from you? You have six siblings who would take them in an instant. Really, what are you freaking out about? Don’t you have faith that we could rebuild it all again?”
That is the single moment that I attribute to the loss of worry about my finances. You know what? We COULD rebuild. Was I so attached to any of my belongings that I couldn’t lose them? No. Not really. In fact, what a great way to lose the clutter! I was only half-joking to myself.
I wish I could convey that to the people who are freaking out. There are people who will help and they can rebuild their lives. It is simply the swing of the pendulum. Nothing changed overnight. I just had to get creative. I found this wonderful organization who traded bags of food in exchange for volunteer work. Boom… food on the table. Little by little, the answers came. The less I worried, the faster they arrived.
One day, I woke up and thought… you know, I don’t have anything to worry about. I can choose to make up something to worry about, but my needs are always taken care of. They may not be taken care of in the manner that I imagined, but I am safe and I am well.
All that dark period that my family went through financially – was simply the doorway to a fantastic life that is tremendously more fulfilling. It was the moment that we were forced to examine our lives and make tough decisions. We always had talked about starting our own business. What better time!
It wasn’t all roses. We struggled. My family was very angry that we didn’t get “real jobs”. There were times when the only thing we had were each other. But, always something would come our way before to keep the lights & heat on in the house. We never gave up.
Fast forward. Our business is six years old. Recession is their reality, not ours. If I could give the worriers one gift, it would be the realization that they are the creators of their life. They have the power to use this time for soul searching – or waste it with thoughts of poverty. Life isn’t always easy, but there are always solutions. You just need to open yourself up to find them. It may not be in the way that you imagine, but don’t shut yourself off to the potential.
For those of you who are struggling in this economy, my heart and blessings go out to you. Keep up the faith, and most of all keep up the courage to NEVER GIVE UP!!!
I am living in many dimensions at once; the appearance of being trapped in time and space is only an illusion.