Independence Day Thoughts ... One Day Later

Yesterday was the Fourth of July... an important day to all of us. We live in a country that affords us freedoms that we take for granted. Once a year, however, it's important to remember how lucky we really are.

This isn't a sappy Patriotic statement, but said more from the standpoint of our personal everyday opportunities.

We have so many chances to do what we want in life. We can work for others, work for ourselves. We can live in houses or apartments or in communes, or cities or in the country. If we have a lot of money, we can live in more than one place. Now, before you get on your high horse, I'm talking about opportunities that I know are NOT available to everyone ... but not because they don't have the freedom. The down side is we are still a "class" system and there are many who don't feel the freedom and are barely able to survive. I am a social worker, I know that. And, I do what I can to help there, when I can -- to help people get a leg up so they feel they have more choices.

We also have an abundance of choices in the realm of what we can purchase and what we can do with it. We can shop in millions of stores, buy things from all over the world. We are far from limited in any way.

And, we can choose our lifestyles -- our sexual lifestyles, without fear of retribution (well, in most parts of the country), our fashion styles, the colors we paint our homes (except where neiborhood associations prohibit that), our use of language.We can choose to live where we need a car or where we can rely on public transportation. We cn choose to recycle or not (although we "should").

You get my drift. We live in a country where we have many chances to express ourselves and to be FREE. We can thank our forefathers for that, as well as many who followed them and passed legislation that fostered our continued growth.

I am grateful for my life. I am young for my years, I am healthy, I can buy whatever I need to help me be more attractive. I choose to live in NY, without a car -- doing my part to help the environment. I recycle all that I can. I volunteer to help others. I position myself in such a way that my voice sometimes inspires other.
Life can't be much better than this .... well... not entirely.
There are some things missing still: I'd love to be in a fabulous relationship with an amazing man, I'd love to have a bit more disposable income, I'd love to travel and explore this world more.

So, I urge you this weekend to look at the freedoms you have AND to acknowledge what you are grateful for. And, lastly, in the words of John Kennedy, "ask not what your country can do for you ... but what you can do for your country!" How can you volunteer in ways that use your talents to be of service to others. The right to volunteer is another of our freedoms. And, as baby boomers, volunteering is in our DNA.

Have a fabulous weekend.
Ann

It's Not the Economy Stupid

Morning,
I expect I'll be ranting here a bit, but then I'll have some solutions or at least ideas.
First, more than ever before, I realize how much the constant news feeds the "worry frenzy." I visited my sister last week and while staying with them, they had the news on ALL DAY LONG. It was CNN and MSNBC -- and they continually talked about all that is "wrong" with the world -- from the political stuff, to the enconomy, to the bad weather trends, to who knows what. There were no positive stories -- only anxiety-producing material.

Now, I also know that some people accuse me of wanting to stick my head in the sand and NOT face some of the reality. Hey -- it's better than doing drugs -- I'll put my head in the sand as long as I can breathe.

I realized that when I hear all this How Bad it is stuff -- I get anxious. And the only reason I hear it is because of the media frenzy that highlights it.
When I'm at home, I watch the morning news or check online just to see if there's anything important to know about and to get the weather report. After that, it's quiet while I work ... or maybe I play background music.

Are there some challenges about the economy how? Yes ... of course. Have we seen economic challenges before? Yes, ... of course. Have we overcomed, moved through, moved on past them before? Yes.... of course. Will we again? Yes.... of course.
It's NOT the ECONOMY --- it's the frenzy.

Instead of talking about how expensive gas is, why don't we report on solutions or things each one of us can do individaully? Like, carpool, take trains or buses. How about working an hour or 45 minutes extra each day so that one of the 10 days in a two week period could be done from home? Wouldn't even not driving one day make a difference? How about people consolidating their errands to conserve drive time? How about families working together about how to consolidate or take public transportation together (where possible). It's back down to what can each of us do?

In other aspects of the economy -- food prices for example. How about people start eating at home more? How about families coming together with potluck meals... more sharing and stretching to make food go further. These are great idea and great for building family connections as well.

The point: Each of us can take personal responsibility to do things a little differently in order to impact our own pocketbooks. Boomers are great at this -- we are the acitivists from the 60's and 70's -- let's remember how we loved to make a difference and tap back into that spirit.

And my last point --- what have you done for someone else lately? You know, when you spend all your time whining about how bad it is for you, you forget that it's much worse for others. How about a commitment to volunteering in some way -- as a work team or as a family team -- to help those less fortunate. The upside -- it helps them, of course, but it also helps you. There's no better cure for depression (except "legal, prescribed" drugs maybe) than getting outside of yourself and being of service to others.

Boomers -- align. Go out and do some good.
End of rant.