SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: homeless or hopeless?

“We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked  and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the  greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of  poverty.”     ~ Mother  Teresa, nun, peaceful missionary & worldwide civil servant

 What a day. What a physically, mentally and spiritually exhausting, yet magically fulfilling and hope-inspiring day. As I type before heading to sleep, the glistening spotlight in my mind still shines on the few hours spent sharing infectious laughter, thought-provoking conversation, and heart-wrenching tear-filled stories with some hundred people or so this late morning. Know that I write this not to showcase my meager charitable efforts, but to share a monumental a-ha in my own mind.

If I could have watched from afar I would have witnessed myself as an outsider literally melting into a crowd; the steadfast and stoic force field dissolving to morph complete strangers into a simple crowd of God’s children. Another trip to a shelter…like a myriad others… where the ultimate goals for its countless, seemingly nameless patrons are never met…and perhaps never will be. “End homelessness” is still the proud banner on the building’s marquis, but most who gather show signs of no end in sight.  Just as the “haves” toe the precarious line of accepting the homeless situation as a problem that just cannot be solved, the “have-nots” stand in mirror reflection.  I know that even if I visited their grounds every single day with food, clothing, and opportunity for shelter …not even a dent would be made.  For the real problem isn’t lack of these wish-list items.  The real problem is buried deep within the souls of the homeless. No matter what choices they have made to land them in their current collective circumstances, the destruction and rubble lay heavy in their body, minds and spirits.  They live under the weight of overpowering feelings of being unwanted, unloved, uncared, insignificant, incapable, unworthy, unequal, and inhuman, and they wear a badge of hopelessness.  No obligatory holiday drive or food drop-off will ever remedy their pain, let alone stop the perpetuation of thousands more joining their disheveled, disjointed crowds.  Indeed, I believe many who fall into the demise of homelessness and succumb to  its evil accompanying activities can choose to change their habits and perhaps become the very light at the end of their tunnels.

But society has a responsibility  as well.  As individuals we are each specially gifted to help, and perhaps a resolution lies in truly owning up to the impact we can have on future generations.  We have the opportunity each and every day to turn strangers into peers through words and actions that spread nothing but love and compassion.  After all, you never know, the person who stands inches from you might be just inches from one last choice that would lead to their own homelessness.  And what if the right word or action from you were to create a miraculous intervention?

Perhaps we cannot end homelessness in our own lifetimes, folks.  But I’m willing to bet that if we all worked on ending hopelessness, the problem might fix itself.

Copyright by Kimberlie Dykeman.

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SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: settling is for shmoes

We must make the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of our real selves.     ~  Thomas Merton, writer, social activist & mystic

From breakfast cereal to best friend, shoes to school, part-time job to partner for life… there’s not a second that goes by that we don’t make a decision or have a circumstance knocking at our doors, begging for one.  When the challenges and curveballs come, though, life  tests our courage and willingness to adapt, change and choose a direction.  It’s then that the dilemma of Rice Krispies over Cheerios doesn’t deserve a second thought, for I’ll bet the farm that never was one’s destiny teetering on the battle of snap, crackle and pop versus that stupid little honey bee.  And yet, we think we don’t really have to settle for what’s put in front of us, because we have the power to create the selections from which to choose.  Right?  I mean, we bought the groceries.  Well, why the hell do so many of us forget that power when considering the real meat-and-potato issues and opportunities in life.  Why do we SETTLE?  

Settling.  Ugh.  Geez…even the word sounds… deflated.  We turn our noses up when we hear someone else commit the crime yet we are not innocent of doing the very same.  Allowing ourselves to live in the median, in the grey, in an unexplored space of the status quo.  So why do we do it?  Why do we settle?

Perhaps lack of knowledge, fear of failure, worry over repercussions, comfort with the predictable, judgment from others… the list is tiring and truthfully loooong.  But perhaps it’s also because we have lost loving  touch with our guts…our instincts…our heart…and our spirit that still knows how to take us to the moon and back if we only choose to leap towards our true selves.  Our story is written by our journey, folks, and the journey is written by our hearts.  When we dive into the deep end of decisions and face them head-on with all our might, focus and faith, we’ll surface to breathe in relief, real joy, redemption, resolution, and a gloriously REAL reality.     ~ KD

Copyright by Kimberlie Dykeman.

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SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: are you in the weeds?

“But a weed is simply a plant that wants to grow where people want something else.  In blaming nature, people mistake the culprit.  Weeds are people’s idea, not nature’s.”     ~ Anonymous

WEEDS…  Some folks have quipped they are but unloved flowers, sins of the earth, plants with undiscovered virtues.  Whatever eloquence you elect, they are the bastardly, unforgiving THINGS that get in the way of blooms of our most precious prayers and wishes… flowers and fruits of our labors that bring priceless joy.  Joy from a gorgeous front yard of fragrance, a harvest-filled garden or orchard, a kitchen table of decorations and delicacies.

In brass tacks, weeds are ultimately what get in the way of our JOY.   Weeds are the vicious little evils that crowd, choke out, and suffocate all that our hearts desire… that which we expect from all the seeds we tossed into the ground.  Weeds…be they proverbial, metaphorical or literal… are the relentless, twisted side-effects of both crappy planting and crappy prepping.  Period.

See, so many of us claim to want everlasting blossoms of the ethereal joys of life, like unconditional love, excitement for life, feelings of success, peace, equality, unshakable optimism,    newfound perspective, contentment, dynamic purpose… you know your list.  Yet none of those vines truly burst through the ground with such offerings.  The main reason?  We plant, water and sun our seeds in the topsoil of our old foundations… the wrecked, rocky, perhaps even rancid earth that is full of childhood fears, unmovable judgments, unanswered hopes, decaying values, and old paradigms.   Both man-made and MIND-made, our weeds strive to see the light yet again.  So it only makes sense that when we try to nurture the seeds of our dreams… we are also encouraging the deep-rooted, hidden creepers to sprout and grow yet again.

Folks, if we truly want joy, if we want to LIVE, we’ve got to get on our knees and weed out the weeds.  We’ve got to be willing to do the work, till the soil, prepare for a healthy planting of our dreams and goals.  We’ve got to be willing to get dirty cultivating the crap hidden in our histories to have our gardens of the future be overgrown with love, peace, perspective, optimism and purpose.   I pray for you that you all find the strength, humility and faith to grow your lives with joy, joy, joy.  And there is no time like the present to start weeding, my friends.

Copyright 2000-2012 by Kimberlie Dykeman.

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SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: thanks takes to flight

“To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.”     ~ Victor Hugo, poet, novelist & activist
 
Indeed, I am a Christian who cherishes Christmas and Easter for their innate awesome events and subsequent movements throughout the world.  But there is nothing quite like Thanksgiving.  Tis the most meaning-full holiday of the year, I believe…a truly holy day…  that crosses all boundaries and binds all faiths and followings.  It is a simple opportunity to gather without agenda, without guilt, without gaudiness and overpriced ticket items, without marketing schemes or madness. 
 
Pure in nature and message: GIVE THANKS for all you have in your life and FOR YOUR LIFE!  And share that with one another.  That’s it, folks.  A day that beckons you to drop your minutia-filled week and come together to connect and share and show love.  Not as difficult as some of us seem to make it.  And even if miles separate your loved ones, you’d be amazed how far your thoughts and prayers of peace and positivity can travel.  So this year, friends, with full heart I wish you all a simple, pure, love-filled and blessed Thanksgiving.  Further, I pray that you continue to give and show thanks every day thereafter.  It’s not that difficult.        ~  KD
 
 

Copyright 2011 by Kimberlie Dykeman.

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SOAPBOX of the week: age-old action-reaction

The meaning of good and bad… is simply helping or hurting.”      ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, philosopher and poet

  Such a simple statement, which no one can debunk.  You and I both know, it ain’t tough to find “evil” lurking about.  Temptations and trickery, loopholes and white lies, judgments and limitless opportunities for self-serving joy.  And when we ourselves participate in creating, delivering or supporting such bad thought, words, and works, we do damage to people and the planet at large… only to have it circle right back to our own backyards.  I only pray that the karmic boomerang effect ultimately instigates change in your choices.  Conversely, it’s tough to argue or ignore the gratification that rushes in when you do good, right? The excitement in the wonderment of how far the ripple will stretch and even a rejoicing in tapping your own power to help!   That said, there’s an everlasting supply of this  glorious feeling at your fingertips.  For it’s the by-product of simply doing good…and there’s an opportunity around every corner, folks.  So seek them, seize them and spread ‘em with love!

Copyright 2000-2010 by Kimberlie Dykeman.        SUBSCRIBE to FREE feed/email  HERE!
Pure Soapbox“ available nationwide & audiobook available on iTUNES & Audible.com!  A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG. 

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SOAPBOX of the week: families valued

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.”  ~ Anthony Brandt, author

…and on that note, this week I take reprieve and leave tech and task to sit idle for a few.  Family calls across the country and my heart sings to follow.  So, perhaps this prompts you to ponder the connection with your own Alpha and Omega and do the very same.

 

 

Copyright 2000-2010 by Kimberlie Dykeman.        SUBSCRIBE to FREE feed/email  HERE!
Pure Soapbox“ available nationwide & audiobook available on iTUNES & Audible.com!  A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG

BOOK KIMBERLIE TO MOTIVATE  your peeps!  info@puresoapbox.com / 310- 500- 9587