Ash Wednesday

It is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten Season.  40 days or so leading up to Easter.  It is traditional in different faiths to observe this time by giving up something, doing without, or just being extra mindful of what you have and how you can improve yourself.

In the last few years I have taken to cutting back on preparing one dinner a week and with the supposed savings I make little brown bags of things for the homeless.  I put little affirmations in them and a piece of fruit, a bottle of water, crackers, granola bars and a wet-nap.  That kind of thing.  I found some little toothpaste samples I am going to put in bags till I run out.

I will do this again this year.  I always have fun putting them together and carry around 5 bags with me every time I leave the house.  They get really good responses from the recipients too.

I learned about a blog challenge called 40 bags in 40 days that lots of bloggers are going to participate in and put weekly updates on their blogs.  It looks great.  I think I might start it as well.  Check it out and see what you think.

For me Lent is about stretching and expanding my spiritual self, finding new ways to put myself out there for my fellow man, not about "oh can I live without chocolate or chips for 40 days".  Of course I can.  But I want it to be about adding a new habit to my life that is meaningful.

How will you acknowledge the Lenten season?  If you aren't Christian, would you consider using these 40 days as a time to look inward and start some type of meditation or even doing the 40 bags and de-cluttering your house?

Does your cup runneth over?

According to all the stupid personality tests and such, I am a giver.  I am a nurturer.  I am a care-giver.  I know this about myself.  Which is why I was drawn to doing massage work and doula work, I am sure.

I am at a point in my life where I am learning that I have to allow people to do for me as well.  That is hard.  Not only that, but I have to learn to (gasp, this is the really hard part)

ASK FOR HELP.

This means not just letting people help who happen to see me struggling, but to notice this my own self and ask.  Some of us are givers.  Some are receivers.  Some of us are givers that have to learn the hard, hard lesson of  LETTING OTHERS GIVE TO US.

It sometimes helps if I can think of it as my gift to them, this letting others do for me.

And to take it one step further, I am going to learn to insist and demand that others (namely Mr. Big Ed) do for me.

I am finding that there is less and less to give to others if I don't find ways to replenish myself.  Does this make sense?  I am just now figuring this stuff out, so I know that I am less than eloquent at expressing it.

So, if I want my own cup to runneth over, I need to make sure there is at least as much going in as going out.  Seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it?  But if you aren't accustomed to it, it's pretty hard.

Do you have similar issues?  Do you have special ways you keep yourself in balance?  In good mental/emotional/spiritual health?

Ideas I am thinking of are to take time each week for myself and do yoga, get a massage, take time to have a cup of tea with a friend, go for a walk in the park, find a permanent church home, a date night. These are the things I have thought of off the top of my head to see if I can start working a few of these in and see how it goes.

My schedule is already really full, so adding in more items is tough.  Making time for myself needs to be a priority.  I feel like I have been running on fumes and it just has to get better.

My questions to you are these; are you in the same predicament? what things do you do for yourself? what would be the ideal things that would help keep you at your best?

I would love to hear from you!

I am so far behind I can't even believe it!

I looked up at the calendar this morning and I am shocked.  Shocked, I tell you!  Do you realize it is two measly little months till Christmas?  That's 8 weeks.  That is nothing.  Nothing!

The whole being gone for almost 4 weeks has put me further behind than I already was to begin with.  I have not even printed up my Christmas list.  I haven't even begun my gift-making.  I haven't done anything of consequence, really.  Gawd, just typing this is making my shoulders slump and sag and making me feel the full weight of my slackerness.

In order to save my sanity and the sanity of everyone around me, I am here to publicly declare that I am simplifying my Christmas plans.  I will take a vow to the following:

1. I will do less decorating.  I will think of it as "tasteful" rather than half-assed.

2. I will spend less.  Less on cards, letters, new lights, gifts, items to be made and gifted to the neighbors.

3. Gifts will be smaller, useful and probably through Heifer or Kiva. I love both these organizations and let's face it, no one in my gift-giving and receiving group is in great need.

4. I will spend more time with people I love.  My gift will be the time I get to spend with them.

5. I will spend money on my holiday bags for my homeless guys.  They will receive no cuts in their bags due to my bad management of time.

Quick little aside, 2 days ago I was driving to go meet a new client and one of my regular homeless guys was walking on the median but towards the front of the line, and away from me. So I tooted my horn at him and waved.  He comes running back, and saw me.  Then he smiled really big and says "Hey, I know you!"  He accepted his usual donation of peanut butter crackers, raisins and $ with his usual "God bless you".  And it struck me that walking up and down with a little sign and watching hundreds of people refusing to make eye contact with you has got to just wear down your soul.  I can not even fathom how degrading that must be.

If you have been coming here and kindly reading my little blog for any time at all, you know that this is something near and dear to my heart.  Several years ago I heard on the news that some horrendously high percentage of Americans (like 70 or 80%) are 2 paychecks away from being homeless.  And with the mortgage crisis and the recession I can only think that that number is even higher.  I have no business  ever looking down my nose at anyone else in sad circumstances.  And so I try to give a helping hand, along with a handshake, just a little touch of human kindness and a smile and always, always eye contact.  This costs me nothing other than a few cents and some forethought to have items in the car at the ready.

So, this is my newly-revised and re-vamped Christmas plan of action.  It is through necessity and hopefully will all be done with love and joy in my heart rather than desperation and resentment.

How goes the holiday plans at your end?

Lent and the homeless

A year ago I decided to give up some of my food budget during Lent and use it to make brown bags of things for the homeless people I encounter.  I used little brown lunch bags and put an apple or orange in them along with a bottle of water and a small pack of nuts or granola or something.

I then started adding in a slip of paper with something encouraging written on them, kind of like a positive fortune cookie.  And then I added little handi-wipe things.  If there were sandwiches in them these bags would look pretty much like a lunch you would pack for school.  It was a way for me to try and impact the homeless directly rather than making a donation to the food bank or a shelter.

I got really nice responses from the recipients of these bags so I continued doing this,  giving either a bottle of water or a little box of raisins or just something that I would try to always remember to load up in my car.  Then for Lent again this year I revived the brown bags.

I am still giving packs of those cheese/peanut butter crackers, raisins and usually $1.00.  We really must have the nicest and most appreciative homeless population here in town, because they are always so nice and will smile and make eye contact with me when I give these out.

Anyhoo, I was cleaning out a cabinet in my bathroom and came across a little bag full of toothpaste samples.  Little samples like you get from the dentist, you know the ones.  And a light bulb went off above my head!!!  Add these dudes in to the homeless bags!  Yes!  I am betting they are really going to appreciate these things.

One of our city commissioners is trying to make it illegal to give a handout to the homeless.  He is not the commissioner from my district and I have already contacted my commissioner and made my views on this very clear.  It is an accepted reality that the majority of people are 2 paychecks away from being homeless. And it would behoove us to treat each other with a little dignity.

So I will go on doing my little part trying to help out, even if they do try to fine or ticket me.

When we lived in Chile I never saw homeless people.  They had some good policies to keep people taken care of.  But they had the worst problem with stray dogs and cats that I have ever seen.  The most scrawny, emaciated and sickly animals you will ever come across.  It was a disgrace.  I was known far and wide for being the person who carried giant bags of pet food, treats and bottles of water and lots of small plastic bowls in the back of my car.  We made the rounds to where we knew certain animals lived and did our best to keep them thriving and off the road and out of harm's way.

Any ideas of things I can add in to my little bags?  Things I should try instead of raisins?  Things I should leave out that are stupid?  And!  most importantly, what do you think of the little affirmation notes I was using last year?  Good?  Bad?  If you like the idea, do you have any little gems I could use on the notes?

There are some good people out there

and companies too!  Do all of you have Panera bread?  They are a good company making an outstanding product.

And now they have outdone themselves.  Check this story out.

Did you read it?  What do you think?

I surely hope that the local clientele get this off the ground and that they do expand.  Seems like a fun idea to me!

Lent Addendum

This is just a little follow-up to yesterday. I was talking with my sister (Hi!! waving up north at you) and she suggested that if I am going to be handing out item after item that I consider putting things together in small bags. I thought this was a terrific idea, which means I get to type the word TERRIFIC! Anyhoo, I found the cute brown paper bags (recyclable, re-usable, compostable, all round good bags) and the fruit and also a couple packages of almonds and granola stuff marked down at Target.

So I am putting together bags with a bottle of water, a fruit or a bag of nuts and I am making some notes with some great affirmations on them to tuck inside. Kinda like a fortune cookie. I am really excited about this terrific project. I hope it brightens the day of the receivers. At most I encounter 3 or 4 homeless people a day and somedays none, so I don't think this is something that will be a hardship for our budget.

I will post any follow ups or comments I get from the recipients. If you have any suggestions for the affirmations, please send then to me. And thanks in advance for that!
And also big thanks to my sister for the great idea on how to easily get all these items out the window before the traffic light changes! :)