A friend brought the organization Jorja’s Journey to my attention today. I took a quick look through their facebook page and realized it’s all about helping orphans in Africa. They have so many amazing initiatives from helping single mothers get skills to support their family, sponsoring education, meal sharing and so much more.
It’s easy to get stuck in the cycle of ‘not enough’ and ‘if I just had more’, especially this time of year where so much focus is on the new and shiny. After a quick look at what they do, I was overcome with a sense of gratitude for my life. Comparison is a tricky game and one I try my best to steer clear of, but sometimes it can really add a level of perspective to things.
There was an image of a young boy doing some writing and it got me right in the heart. While I’m sitting here fretting about teacher meetings this week and feeling like I’m not doing enough homework or extra reading practice with my kids, I was struck with a whole new perspective. I often feel immense gratitude for their teachers. They have helped my boys through so much on top of the act of teaching curriculum. Today I had a whole other level of gratitude for the fact that they have such free and easy access to education when so many people of the world only dream about that.
While there have been seasons in my life where I worried tremendously about money and bills, there has never been a time where I worried about being homeless or how I was going to feed my babies. Never. I remember a time when my oldest was a baby that I had to ask someone to buy me a box of diapers. I had so much guilt and shame over that. But what a blessing it was to have someone who was happy to help us when we needed it, to know that my baby would never be in need. Today I was reminded what a privalege that is. I have the security that no matter how bad I fuck it up or what outside things happen to me, I have people that I can count on to make sure our basic needs are met.
So today while I am trying to figure out the next steps in my career and thinking about my Christmas list and paying my bills.. in the middle of that stress and noise I can stop and count the many blessings I have. I have a safe roof over my head, food in my fridge and skills to earn a living. While it’s easy to get caught up in what we want, we sometimes forget to appreciate and say thank you to whatever higher power you believe in for the many gifts you already have.
I pride myself on being self sufficient and able to take care of house and home for myself and my kids. The entire intent of this blog is to inspire other people to own their financial picture too. There is so much value in having a secure financial life that lets you lay down worry and gives space for dreams. There is also value in accepting help when needed. I have had a couple of people gift me things lately. It’s funny how I immediately felt almost defensive about it. It took me a minute, but gratitude can really fix that too. I can choose to be miffed that someone dare think I need help, or I can accept their kind hearted gesture for what it is and say thank you. I know it feels good to give to someone you care about, I can lay my pride down and feel gratitude that people care about me too.
It’s hard to go about creating wealth and abundance in your life if you are focusing on all the things you lack. I am a huge believer in taking hard stock of where you are while dreaming about where you want to be. That process can incite all kinds of negative thoughts and emotions and can often be a deterrent for people in getting started in understanding their money habits. If you can shift how you’re thinking about your current situation and try looking at it from a space of gratitude and grace it is so much lighter. If you can look at where you want to be from a lens of excitement and possibility rather than how far off it is and how where you are isn’t where you want, that is where magic comes in. More than that, you will reach your goals much quicker and enjoy the ride so much more if you can find peace and gratitude for the place you are in the journey.
Gratitude has such a powerful place in how we view our lives, our finances, our things, our relationships and ultimately the quality of our lives and the amount of enjoyment we have. Finding gratitude can transform not enough into more than enough really quick. No matter what hard times we are facing there is so much beauty to be seen. You can find gratitude in the tiny or the huge, it’s there if you look. The practice of regularly looking for and acknowledging what you are grateful for will change your life.
I highly suggest you check out the page for Jorja’s Journey. For what I would spend on a toy or a new book I can help give the gift of education and ultimately hope to a person in need. It also gave me the immense gift of perspective and gratitude today for all I have in my life. Win win.
Lots of love
Dawn
Tax Wise 