Opportunities

How many opportunities do we miss because we are focussed on one day when?

It is such an easy trap to fall into, part of living in a materialistic society, there is just so much to want. And don’t you dare lay the blame for that at the feet of the advertisers. It’s our own greed and perceptions that lead us by the nose down this road.

For example we’d like to own our own house and so we still dream about that one day when. The thing is though, our idea of a house is sheer luxury to many because it includes more than one bathroom, a studio and a guest room. We very easily focus on what tangible things we have and say we will help charity when… I win lotto, I get a promotion, I have enough money to have everything I want.

Now small amounts of money is something I have a lot of experience with. I know it’s possible to survive on less than what you may think and we still have things that should be considered luxuries. I say this only because it may show to you that I know what I am about to suggest is possible. When you go food shopping if pasta or tins of soup or veg are on special add an extra one or two to your shopping, it could be as little as 2 or 3 dollars and after a month or two you will have enough to donate a food parcel to charity. When you go toy shopping and stumble across those awesome 70% discounts buy an extra one if you can and it’s a present for a kid in a shelter. These sort of things don’t need to be big or expensive, sometimes we convince ourselves that they do.

You can give more than you might think for 5 or 10 dollars, be creative and if you can get special deals for certain things then play to your strengths and find someway to donate that sort of gift. Then of course this is just talking about material things, there are plenty of other ways to help.

As much as the internet and computers are blamed for the demise of true interaction it’s anonymity does enable us to listen to those we might not otherwise be able to. It makes it possible for us to reach out to someone on the other side of the world and give them someone to confide in. There are chat groups for most things, find something you have experience with and find someone to listen to. For me it’s to do with self-harm, for you it could be eating disorders, miscarriage, abusive relationships, depression, there are so many possibilities and we all have experience in something.

Another option is to look at your skill set. Maybe you are a great cook so you could invite someone to dinner. Maybe you are good with money so you could give people pointers on budgeting. Once again the options are limited only by your own imagination and willingness.

We need to find confidence in who we are now, in this moment and in the things we have because only when we are equipped with that can we give it back out.

I got the idea for this blog from church so as I wrap up I’m going to include forgiveness, grace and mercy, with a note that as ephemeral as these things are we don’t always feel we’ve received them. Just because we don’t always feel something doesn’t mean we don’t have it. Sometimes we just haven’t acted on it. Not believing that God has forgiven you doesn’t mean it isn’t so. To give a more personal example, sometimes I don’t necessarily feel loved, but if I stop and think for two seconds I will remember that I am despite how down I feel. Sometimes it’s as simple (but not necessarily easy) as knowing something in your head and acting on it, then the feeling may come.

We need to stop wasting time looking for excuses of ‘I will when’…(I have something or feel something)…because quite honestly ‘when’ may never happen. In the meantime life still goes on and you are probably better off than others, if you could just take your eyes off yourself long enough to notice.