Making the Best of Our Present Situation

“Life’s circumstances are not always what you might wish them to be. The pattern of life does not necessarily go as you plan. Beyond any understanding, you may at times be led in different directions that you never imagined, dreamed, or designed.” — Vicky Silvers

Life is like that, it is training ground where we develop the skills and virtues that what we lack and strengthen the ones we have. Uncomfortable a times, yes, but worth it at the end, that’s for sure.

Changes, which we have no control over, throw us into unfamiliar ground. We get accustomed to certain routines, comforts and income as life kind of flow from all the efforts and educational preparation we have in order to live reasonably at ease. In these changing economic times when all we have known disappears, is taken away or becomes unknown to us it is hard to feel at ease and optimistic, but it is at those times that we find out what we are truly made of. We are forced to dig deep within in order to find the strength to go on and it is in our yielding to “what is” and the acceptance that we are not really in charge that ultimately give us the strength to let go and by doing so allowing freedom to emerge in our life. Faith is belief in something we can’t see or explain. Shifting realities pushes us to think like we never have before, we need to look for the unthinkable and try to find new ways to survive. There are great opportunities to be discovered and developed in time of hardships but only a small percentage of people will be able to grasp it. You can be one of them if you stop thinking about what you lost and start thinking of what you can gain instead. It is good to be cautious but not to the point to be immobilized, if we do so I can assure it will get worse before it gets better.

The last three years has been very hard financially for my family and for a long time I was using the wrong words to express the lack of money. I was saying; I can’t afford it, I don’t have the money, etc. but during the Christmas Season I decided to trust God -not that I didn’t before- but this time I was going to do it totally and try not to -at the same time- get my will in the middle of His. And you know what? He hasn’t disappointed me yet. I changed my language and I don’t use the phrases I used in the past, now I say; when I get the money, as soon as I can, in a week or so, etc. I am always expecting that God is going to provide us with the necessary means to go on and we have.

So don’t get discouraged, lose hope or faith, there is a silver lining in all of this but you have to open your eyes, ears and heart to it. This could be a time when you will finally find out what your true mission in life is; you will probably get to use your God-given talents for the very first time or on a full-time basis and in the long run you will be happier than you have before. Maybe you will have to give up many material possessions that only tied you down and you will learn to live simpler and that will be a good thing. Too many responsibilities and possessions sometimes enslave us beyond measure. Accept what you can not change and change what you can and see how little by little everything falls into place. It is a given that in order to get something better first we need to let go of what we have sometimes. In order to get our hands full we need to come forward with empty hands, but what we must have is a lot of faith and hope.

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Clary Lopez, author of Simplicity, Richness of Life

Good Recession Day

(Photography by ElvisFan76)

Unlike my regular Sundays in which I try to catch up with my reading and meditation, today I enjoyed going shopping. The recession has hit many and I have to watch where my money is going, but one good thing about a recession is the great sales you can find just about everywhere. It makes me sad to see a lot of business liquidating their inventory because they are going under but I know that in time they will emerge again. In the meantime today I had the opportunity to buy a few things I needed at a bargain price. I wish I had more money to be able to buy the things I can not afford and that today are at reasonable prices.

I usually don’t like to go shopping but today I had a good one; the day was sunny and clear and the temperature around 69 degrees F. It would have been perfect if I headed to the beach to see the sunset afterward but I guess I can’t be all over town in one day.

I thank God for this day and will welcome a few more like it, with good company, health, laughter and joy.

Shifting Our Collective Consciousness

Our present economic situation is the inevitable result of our actions. For decades we have learned to spend more than we earn and financial institutions were the enablers to this misfortune. The way all of the financial institutions deal with this economic crisis doesn’t make sense to me. Raising interest rates on credit card balances when we get behind in payments is not going to help us pay them back sooner. Damaging our credit records is not going to help us, if we can get loans at a decent interest rate from whatever source possible -like the equity in our homes- in order to get our finances in order the would be better off. What makes them think that if we can’t pay the minimum due on our accounts that we will be able to pay the full balance? It is not that we don’t want to pay our bills, it is that we can’t pay with money we don’t have. I believe that there should be a shift on our collective consciousness and instead at looking so much at the financial institutions that the government look at us with compassion as well and try to help us.

The situation is clear, even if the financial institutions are saved by the government’s bail out program or by becoming part owners they won’t in turn reach out to us in order to rescue us from our financial ordeals. I don’t believe that will help us in any way, shape or form. What I believe should happen is for all financial institutions to communicate in writing with their customers with new re-payment alternatives on their accounts. Everyone knows that interest rates, penalties, mortgage terms and writing off accounts don’t work. I challenge them to stop being so greedy and adjust each and every account to the point that they can at least break even, if they don’t I’m sure in time we will learn to do without them. Banks should do whatever it takes to keep everyone in their homes instead of going through another foreclosure. Shifting our collective consciousness to one based on what we earn and what we can afford will provide us with peace of mind and well-being.

I don’t know if we have a Domestic Economics course in school, one that teaches not about this country domestic economics but one that teaches about our own economics at home. If we do students should be required to mastered it by the time they graduate from high school. I would suggest this course begins in Junior High. Now days even teenagers have their own credit cards without having a job. As parents it is our job to teach our kids about handling money, even if it is from our own mistakes.

What is your opinion on this whole situation? What do you think needs to happen in order to turn it around?

Gambling in Times of Uncertainty

Uncertainty is sweeping the nation, nobody knows when the economy will improve and how to handle it until it does. Especially those young enough for this to be the first time that something like this happens to them. To me this is the second time around but by far the longest stretch of time I had to deal with it. I try to keep myself optimistic about this economic crisis but at times I feel I’m losing hope. Thank God is not enough to lose it altogether and somehow I hang on to the faith I have that it will get better. I try to keep looking at the bright side and notice what I have instead of what I don’t have. I keep hoping for a better day and working to attain new goals and dreams in my life.

Last night I was given what for many people would be bad news, a dear friend is leaving. In any other given time in the past it would have been a big blow to me emotionally but not last night. I somehow thought about him immediately, my concerns and needs were non existent. I only thought of him and what he needs at this moment. I was glad for him, it was a blessing to him to be able to make this move in his life. He was amazed at the reaction and expressed his worries in giving me the news. “I can’t think of me, I have to think of you,” it was all I could say. I heard the words and I knew they weren’t from my selfish self, it was from my spirit and my heart. By doing so I was able to accept a reality I was unable to change and found peace on the uncertainty I will find myself when he finally leaves.

Later on my dad called me excited about making one of his dreams come true. My mom asked me before she put him on the phone, “please don’t say no to your dad, he is so excited.” Never in a million years I would of thought that his dream has been one of mine for a long time; going on a cruise as a family. I think the last time we travelled together we were teenagers and we went to Disney World. Of course I was all excited until the analysis of what it will mean financially hit me and the uncertainty of how the situation will be when the time for this vacation comes, but the reservation had to be made now in order to get a good deal. Do we gamble all that money and hope we won’t have to cancel at the last minute or do we reserve and hope for the best? My dad decided to hope for the best, and I’m not surprised, he is always like that. He always gambles, takes risks and chances in life. Life is too short to worry too much about anything, everything works itself out at the end. Trust and hope are his key ingredients. So many times we stop ourselves from making our dreams come true for fear of the unknown, when in reality all we needed to do was push a little harder. I realize at the same time this opportunity will mean that I would have to make a big sacrifice, everything has a price tag and I must decide if I want to pay the price or not. It is not easy at times but we need to keep moving forward even if it is a millimeter at a time. We can’t stay stuck or we become stagnant. We need to keep our minds stimulated to think of new ways and ideas that might help change our present situation, we need to keep dreaming and even if we need to wait a little more for what we want or need to sacrifice it for the time been, to have the hope that in time it will come to be. That’s how I want to think at this moment. I won’t give up my dreams. I just will have to adjust the manner and time in which I’ll try to make them come true and hopefully it will work out at the end.

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Clary Lopez, author of Simplicity, Richness of Life

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

Reading and listening to successful people is one of the best ways to learn with what perspective to look at our life. We encounter many situations and challenges in life and sometimes doubt we are doing the right thing. I’ve noticed one common theme along these kind of messages and testimonies;

FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCT AND DO WHAT YOU LOVE

At the time it might seem foolish but on the long run it pays off. We don’t know for sure if things are going to work out but in time when we look back we can see it clearly. It happens a lot when the unexpected happens to us just when we are feeling comfortable right where we are. It is an opportunity to learn and grow in ways we never thought of. The growth is usually painful because it means leaving what is familiar and comfortable to us. It takes courage to move on a different direction, but our instincts will guide us. Some of us are slow or afraid to take a new path (in life or business) even though we had a gut instinct that something needs to change, by the time we decide to do something it’s too late. We can see that in the trend changes of our economy today and how signs were displayed years ago. Those who noticed them and made changes are doing better today -at least they prepared- others are having a hard time.

So let’s learn to tune into ourselves and read within the lines of our emotions, listen to our instinct and act upon them.

Remember:

“He dares to be a fool, and that is the first step in the direction of wisdom.” James Huneker