blessed to be a blessing

It has been interesting to look back over our recent journey and to marvel at all of the wonderful things that have come about. I have once again been overwhelmed with gratitude and a sense of wonder.

For some reason I find myself thinking back to the old days and conversations with friends about the inequity in the world. We spoke of world hunger and how we are so rich compared to most of the world. We spoke of almost feeling guilty about having so much when others had so little. We found ourselves wondering if it was selfish to spend money on ourselves or if we should find ways to give it all away. Well, maybe we didn't go that far. But we did talk about whether it was extravagant to spend money for a gallon of paint for our living room - in light of starving children in Africa.

I suppose we each came up with our own conclusions and I suppose we have changed those ideas through the years.

I also remember asking myself the question "Why are we so blessed?" Why in the world were we born in a land of plenty while others seldom have enough? I don't know how to make sense of questions like that except maybe to change the nuance of the question. Instead of looking for a "reason" I began to wonder if I could find some "purpose" for being so blessed. Is there something I can do with my blessings? My bounty? Something I could/should do with my plenty?

Well, certainly there is. With great privilege comes great responsibility.

Over the years I gradually developed a philosophy and a mantra, I guess. I often said that I was blessed to be a blessing and even preached sermons around that theme.

I haven't preached any sermons for a long time - well, at least not from a pulpit. But I do still believer that there is value in that little mantra. I still think that part of my grateful response to being blessed can and perhaps should be to share that blessing with others. Obviously blessings come in many forms - whether financial or physical or relational. And there's a really cool thing that happens. As I share my blessings, I somehow find myself being more blessed.

There are obvious ways that we can share our plenty with others who have less as well as inevitable risks. There are also subtle ways to share what we have. Ways to pay it forward. Ways to use our assets to bless other people.

And so I do - or at least I want to.

I'm not so interested in trying to list all the ways that I do that. Maybe it's more of an explanation or a rationale for what I do. For example, I am so terribly grateful for all that I have been learning about living more simply and with less stuff. Therefore, I really want to be of help to others who could benefit similarly. This is one way that I can use my abilities as a teacher and a writer to encourage others who may be interested in following that pathway. It can be a hard road and I'm grateful for the help I've been given along the way so I am now happy to in turn offer my help to others.

This is just one small way I can share what I've been given.

We have all received various blessings along with various difficulties.
I guess my challenge to you would be to notice your blessings and to find ways to share them.

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You can read other posts in this series here.