WHAT DOES GIVING BACK LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
Why should I or how could I... give back? Have you ever asked yourself that? No big deal if you haven't but I can assure you it's a worthy investigation for your soul.
“The secret to living is giving”
Are you a helpful human? I’m a helpful human. I know I enjoy doing things for others. I'm sure we can share in that confidently right? I also can admit there have been times in my life where I thought I was too broke and way too busy making ends meet to give back in any sort of way. I snarled at street beggars and would think to myself “do better, try to get a job, I am”. I wasn't compassionately thinking about what their story may be. Those were very limiting beliefs. I am happy to say, that young and narrow mind of mine has expanded quite a lot since those days. It’s hard though… sometimes you just don't see how to help others if you’re struggling yourself. Let's grab a little insight together on this.
Ask Yourself A Few Things
Is there a cause you know your heart is drawn to? What are your passions? If you had a million dollars to spare what contributions would you want to make? What do you care about? Where would you like to make an impact? What does your spirituality look like? Feeling inspired yet?
The Northern California fires that just blazed in like a hurricane over wine country and my new home have given me reason to pause. I'd like to take how abundantly blessed we've been through it all and find ways to give back for those who've lost so much. I've never had to emergency evacuate before. Nor consider the safest decisions to quickly make with a newborn and partner you love dearly. I've never had a home of my own that I had to think about loosing so fast. I tend to think anyone who has experienced this would agree, you very quickly realize the only thing that matters is your families safety. While it's difficult not to implode with sadness when there is so much suffering in the world, you can shift a lot by focusing on gratitude and sharing that energy with others. Incredible strength has come from our Sonoma community in group and individual efforts. We've returned to signs of thanks for our firefighters and first responders posted everywhere and a sense of warmth engulfing this town with supportive conversations, smiles and waves to every passing neighbor, offers for home cooked meals, places to stay and introduced to loads of resources where people can help in a multitude of ways. Examples of giving back surrounds us.
I joined The New Hollywood; a501c3 non-profit organization which is dedicated to supporting socially conscious storytellers and change-maker’s in 2014. I was so inspired by this group of women from the first meeting we had. They all have incredibly busy lives and manage to successfully wear several different hats AND are part of charity organizations doing a wonderful job supporting things they are passionate about. I got curious about how I could do more to give back and what that could look like for me. Inspiration is always a helpful tool when it comes to taking action yourself. Being a part of this group, hearing about what so many others do on small and large scales gave me insight to look and see how I could do the same. It's infectious.
Get Your Wheels Turning
My passions for teaching yoga, writing children's literature and acting have lead me to give back in all those areas by volunteering my time with aligned programs. These are really enjoyable ways to give back for me. What do you love to do?
If time is not available but monetary donations make more sense in some instances, I like to know what percentage directly get's given to the cause. Don't be afraid to get clarity on that. Watch out for things that say "some proceeds or a portion of" if you in-fact would like to know your offerings go fully into what you're supporting.
I love doing a major house cleaning a few times a year and donating requested items to the Veterans. They will pick up boxed or bagged goods at your door and you can schedule it. What may not be of use to me anymore may be extremely useful to someone else. This is a great one for kids to participate in when cleaning out toys.
Depending on your spiritual path and what your practice is... prayers cost nothing and are filled with intentions and love. Our family is especially grateful for all the prayers sent our way during the past few weeks and we plan to keep that prayer train moving. There is a lot of healing knowing there's positivity being sent your way, not to mention what you can put out there for others. We often have our greatest healing happen when we take that which feels heavy off of ourselves and redirect it into love and gratitude you can share.
Thank you for stopping by Inspirational Addict... If you have any comments or fun you'd like to share with me please do. It's lovely hearing from you guys. Sending lot's of love out there into the world. Blessings and hugs.
XO ANDREA