To be philanthropic
This entry comes off the back of my daily anchoring journal and the 4th of July Podcast episode delivered by Ryan Holiday for the Daily Stoic.
Is it good enough to speak about the common good or embody it, live it and act it?
Ryan started the Podcast by explaining the meaning behind independence day and how its real meaning is still in work. Admittedly, I do not know much (if anything) about American history. Still, the subject fascinates me, and when a native son speaks well-versed knowledge on the subject of independence day, I will listen, absorb and extract the wisdom to live my life for the common good.
Ryan said we are always celebrating a process, and it’s not about hot dogs and bbq’s; it’s understanding the amendments laid down in 1776 when the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of independence.
Known as a celebration of America’s independence, but as Ryan pointed out, we still see all sorts of injustice, from political discourse about laws, taxes etc., to systemic poverty/racism. Still, we’re getting better, and it is the “getting better” we must celebrate…celebrate the process.
Living for the common good means you are giving to those aligned with similar beliefs, and you are all there for each other giving to something that you all have in common.
Globally we share this space we live in — the Globe, and I’m hoping there’s a global shared consciousness that we want to leave this place better than how we found it.
By saying what I have does not mean I’ve got my s*** sorted, and I’m that person who is living without fault for the common good. I realise I’m a flawed being, but by identifying my flaws, I can work for and seek the solution.
I started looking into a question that my counsellor asked me in my last session. I could not answer it because if I answered “yes”, I felt it would have been choosing the easy option and admitting something that I was not ready to accept without the proof that I was in this state. The question was, “are you depressed” but the context of the question was because I sounded depressed.
Today I searched for the meaning of “depressed”. I found 4 to 5 meanings, and as some of the descriptions would reign true, by definition, I am not depressed, but I can see how I could seem it.
is certainly present in my demeanour but there’s a tip from the feelings, from the episodes of depression such as low self-esteem, self-worth, inadequacy and guilt to “severe despondency and dejection”, also not feeling pleasure in what I once did find joy in.
Yes, I have symptoms, but I am not by definition “depressed”, that is not me opting out and being afraid of what could be; instead, it’s an opportunity to work on my flaws because they have been identified.
I came into counselling with a quest to find myself and tune into my frequency. The search and my findings are much like the celebrations for Independence day; they are a process.
The more I grow into myself the more aware I become of my already ‘self-awareness’. I always said I am not self-aware; this is not true, I am not only aware of self, but I am self-aware. I’ve struggled with this because of low self-worth, inadequacy, and dejection.
I know my best times in life were when I was able to finance my joy.
Being on a budget, living life hand to mouth, buying things on a shoestring budget, reliance on ‘hand me downs’, bootstrapping my business, looking for special deals, stealing, waiting on offers, markdowns, the sale sign, the cheap option, all leave me with sorrow, a downward turn in mood and shame, yes, by these accounts I sound depressed.
I wrote more in my journal about comparisons to others who deliver value much like the same way I do, but the difference is financial backing and self-assured confidence, and then I shifted the thought, changed the trajectory of my thoughts. I added gratitude, and it is here where I can work from. I wrote “I have so much”, but I also wrote, “yet, I have so little” in the same sentence.
Abundance cannot flow from one side. For example, if I had a glass of water and the water was too full for the glass, it would overflow evenly over the edge. This is abundance. If I had the glass tilted, it would still flow but uneven; I feel very much like this. A waterfall can look abundant, but it’s tipping from its edge into absolute abundance. The absolute abundance is my knowledge that there is something bigger than me — The universe.
know I exist for something bigger than me — The Universe.
My abundance will be provided by something bigger than me to deliver my service to that which is more important to me — My children, humanity as a whole.
I always delivered my service from a place that I believed I was offering to someone/something that was more important than me.
love the word Philanthropy — The definition is “to promote the welfare of others expressed especially by the generous donation of money to good causes.”
I want to live a philanthropic life for those I serve, starting with my children focusing on the “welfare” part and letting the generosity grow organically.
