Newsletter January 2020, Because I Can
wvlju2020-01-31T22:10:31+00:00Because I Can was the theme of my January message because when I was doing a little cooking just before the holidays for those in need, someone made a comment, “its so great that you can do all this.” My thought was, “I do it because I can.” I share part of the message here with you as it is long. The link to read the whole message is below, which is also the link to sign up for my monthly newsletter/message. BECAUSE I CAN The world needs every little bit of upliftment we can offer. Whenever we offer a helping hand or uplift anyone in any way, we help make the world a better place. And we all want that! “Because I can” does not necessarily have to involve doing. Being generous of spirit is also a wonderful gift to extend to others. It is easiest to help another(s) in a physical sense with practical deeds when their difficulties are not of their own doing. It is easiest to extend a smile, a kind word, or a kind gesture when the other(s) is calm, friendly, and in a good mood. However, It is those who may have brought on their own hardships, and those who are frenzied, unfriendly, or even rude, that need our expressions of love the most. Most of us have had hurts, suffered loss, and/or have had difficult circumstances at one point or another in our life. And we all deal with it differently. Some of us overcome it rather easily. Some of us develop a bad temper. Others of us become stressed-out. Some of us become needy, controlling, demanding, and generally behave badly. We may also become dysfunctional in one or a few of the various ways – sometimes to the point of turning to drugs or alcohol. All these ways of dealing with life are cries for help. They help us to forget. To dull the pain. Compassion is always the answer – however the situation calls for it. Although these unproductive ways of dealing with life usually create more problems for us, we lean on them until we can face what is keeping us down. We all also overcome the effects of our hurts, losses, and difficult circumstances on different timelines. Most of us are just doing our best with where we are at any moment in time. We are also doing our best to be (or become) happy, and feel empowered. Even those of us who have significantly overcome our issues have bad days. So, we could all do with compassion and understanding as we navigate through all life has thrown at us. Looking back to my 20’s, I was a crazed person – just trying to navigate life as best I could. Between many family stresses that caused conflicting emotions in me, attempting to be “wonder woman” to avoid being disempowered like my mother, trying to be a good mother to my young son, while at the same time needing to have some fun [...]