Love…Fight….& R-E-S-P-E-C-T

While my immaturity may have gotten the best of me when I was younger, I am happy to say that my intentions of being a Lover, not a Fighter are very much in effect these days.  This goes for my friendships, relationships within my family and with my husband.    As a Cancer ;), I am extremely emotional!  I empathize with most and I shed a tear for those I have never met.
Yesterday I found a 4-5 month old kitten I was ready to adopt on the spot.  She was so skinny that my heart broke, but I have to consider my other animals and my husband before jumping the gun and taking in another kitten.  Sigh.    Is it a lot to ask the Lord to grant me with the ability to rescue all those in need?   I really don’t think so, and I pray for that nearly every day.   If I could give you ONE reason I want wealth, that reason would be to give back.   Sure, I want the house of my dreams, but what makes me the happiest is seeing that I can save the lives of so many homeless animals and that I can also enrich the lives of those individuals that are less fortunate.
I tell myself every day that while I may not have the monetary wealth to make a world of difference at the moment, I have so much wealth in other areas of my life that afford me the opportunity to do more than I give myself credit for. I will come out and say it, I make excuses.   I tell myself I can do more when I have the money, but what about my bare hands?  What about my feet?  My brain?   There are so many ways that I can do more, but I am the only one placing limits on myself.    Moses and Jesus barely had clothes on their backs or food and water, yet they moved mountains.  I realize NOW that my faith CAN indeed move mountains.
If I could use one word to describe my ambitions for 2012, it would be philanthropy.   While my year so far is better described by words like change, deliverance and adaptation, I strive to use my abilities to do more for others less fortunate.   In the future, David and I will have a foundation that we can leverage to make exponential difference in the world, but for now, I will have to step outside my comfort zone and give more of myself – my whole self.
Empathy, being a common theme that governs my life, is something that I take for granted in other people.   I assume that everyone has the empathy and the understanding that I do.   It is for this reason that I have a hard time comprehending why others do things that I would NEVER consider doing.   The Golden Rule states that you should”Do unto others as you would want others to do unto you.”   I work on fulfilling this rule every day.  I want to give back partly for this reason.  But what if others don’t know how you want to be treated?  This rule also goes the other way around – don’t allow people to treat you as you would not treat them.    Recognize that this means you have to speak up and tell people when they are making you uncomfortable or are treating you in such a way that you do not deem appropriate – I struggle very much with this due to my dislike for confrontation.  Sighhhhhhhhhhhh.
Another important point to address is that when in doubt, put yourself in other’s shoes. Having the ability to understand that we are all at different points in our lives and going through varying situations allows you to see how others may be uncomfortable where you are not.
Now that my feelings are alllll out there, my question is…why don’t they just get it!?
I have a hard time understanding why the basic rules that govern my life can be soooo far off from those of others.   I run my life in a way that I consider other’s feelings – sometimes more than my own.  Why?  Because I want others to consider mine… DUH!   There are a million rules that apply to my life, that I find have no place in other people’s lives.   Maybe I am just different than most, or perhaps we live in a world where people have no regard for anyone but themselves… Yes, we are all somewhat selfish, I am definitely selfish sometimes, but I would never just impose myself on others.    Maybe one day the world will look a little different and we can all follow the rainbow to the pot of gold at the end.