2015 Resolution

"Everyone suffers some injustice in life, and what better motivation than to help others not suffer in the same way."  -Bella Thorne

I feel like the year wouldn't be complete without a resolution post...  So, here it goes.

Something I've placed a strong emphasis on this year is reaching needs, wherever they may be.  Making small differences in other people's lives has made a big difference in my life.  But more importantly, being able to see needs (literally everywhere) and how prevalent they are has been eye opening for me. Knowing that our communities, cities, states, countries, and planet is suffering, makes me want to do my part.  Every issue from a dog without a warm place to sleep to the lack of food and clean water in third world countries matters.  World peace, as idealistic and cheesy as it sounds, and world satisfaction has become an ever prevalent theme that my heart aches to resolve.  I've spent a lot of time and energy this year doing my part, and I'm resolving to do more next year.

So what's a resolution without concrete steps and goals?  Well...I'm getting there.  I'm not sure where I'll begin.  One thing I've learned this year is that you can't help someone unless you really feel led to do so.  It has to feel right in the moment.  You have to know that you are meant to be the helper.  You have to feel like the difference is yours to make.  If you've ever had this feeling before, you know exactly what I'm talking about.  It's almost like your contribution means more when you know that you were meant to be the one making that contribution.  However, all of that being said, I do need "measurements" in place to make sure I'm maintaining my resolution, right?  

Here's what that will look like:

1. One or more charitable actions each month in the form of a donation of time, money, items, energy, resources, or any other helpful initiative not otherwise specified
2. Each month's "action" must be different (no duplication).  Although repeating a charitable action is certainly allowed, encouraged even, it will not count towards that month's "charitable action"
3. The small things matter - thinking outside of the box is encouraged.  At least 3 times this year, make the "act of kindness" personal versus commercial.  Make sure that 3 of the 12 actions (25%) directly affect an individual (stranger or not), rather than an organization or group.

The ultimate goal here is to inspire more action, creativity, and community involvement. In some capacity (Facebook, blog posts, something - haven't decided what YET), I'll keep everyone posted on my activity.  This is more for accountability reasons than anything else.  I also think it's good to share my experiences, positive and negative, in order to encourage others to get involved too!

So, what's my new year's resolution?  To leave people and places better than I found them.  

Feelings into Action

"A feeling doesn't feed a hungry person.  We need to turn our feelings into action."  -Grace Jones

Each day we have a choice to make: who do we want to be.  I don't always have the answer to that question, but there's one thing that always reigns true for me and it's this: I want to be good.  I want to do good things.  I want to touch lives.  I want to leave people and places better than I found them.

I know we all hate being asked to donate.  There are so many pressing issues in the world that it feels impossible to solve them all.  I'm totally in tune with that.  But I have one goal in mind - I want to bring everyone in my social media together.  I have 1583 Facebook friends.  If each of them gave $1, including myself, we would raise $1584 for Feeding America this holiday season.  Did I mention that equals 15,840 meals for hungry Americans?  $1 isn't very much when we think about how much money we'll spend this Christmas.  I believe that this goal is attainable.  I also believe we can do more.

That's why I'm blogging.  My online presence ins't confined to Facebook, so why should the scope of these $1 donations be?  If I can reach my readers and my readers can reach their Facebook friends, the possibilities here are endless.

Maybe I'm being a bit idealistic.  Maybe I'm not.  There's one thing I know for sure - not trying won't help.  So, here I am.  I'm asking for $1. Then I'm asking you to share this page everywhere you possibly can.  And if you don't have $1, I'm asking for your support.  Your thoughts,  your encouragement, and your sharing of this worthy cause.

We are all capable of making a difference.

You can donate by clicking here.

After you make your donation, I encourage you to spend some time checking out the resources on Feeding America's website.  Some of the stories have brought me to tears and learning about the impact of hunger has been truly enlightening.

"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.  The last is to say thank you.  In between, the leader is a servant."  -Max de Pree