Force yourself to look around you

It is hard not to feel overwhelmed and underwater when you read global press on global issues...all of which impact us. Some at the level of touching us in our everyday lives. Top of mind for me is the financial crises, as they have gotten personal for me, on multiple levels. One of the sources of frustration I feel, aside from suddenly not knowing my financial path is, the time and attention I am having to pay to that aspect of my life. Not only is it boring, it is distracting me from what I really care about - civilly. managing my tiny financial unit should not be as complicated as it has become. The capitalistic aspiration in America, I thought, was to work, support your family, contribute to your community, mentor and then after paying your dues for 35-40 years, have the ability to give back on your terms...I thought wrong. Although this "financial crisis" has been building momentum for several years, when it hits home, it feels sudden. Which makes us panic, unproductively until we can accept and muster up enough strength to carry on in the new scene. We are still in the panic stage. Those of us who can function in stressful situations, will be creative in the rebuilding phase and come out ok on the other side. Those of us that fold under stress will need help to regain our footing.

The message, regardless of how you react, is to be compassionate. Recognize the collective hardship and as you are solving your problems think too about how you can solve one problem for some one else. If we don't help each other we will be much weaker and thus slower to recover.