Charity and Compassion

It was during the years I lived in Florida that I first began seeing men standing at intersections holding signs that read: Will Work For Food. At first, it was shocking in its newness; afterwards it became a personal conflict. I would often overhear groups of people talking about what a racket it was. They would say that limousines delivered the men to various corners. However, I had not seen this; could it be true or a lie? Then one day I was driving home from the grocery store. A man with a sign approached my car while I was stopped at the light. He was holding his sign to my window and looking in my eyes. I had to make a decision, it was no longer a matter for debate. It was there in that moment the world became silent. All the voices and arguments were gone. I had clarity. It was not my responsibility to decide if this man deserved my help or not. He was asking for food; I gave him a loaf of bread.  

What a relief and blessing it was once the decision was made. It is not my responsibility to judge whether someone else deserves to be helped.  When someone asks, give what they ask for. I did not give money, he asked for food. Where I live in Honduras, there is very little financial aid for those with physical limitations or the very ill. Often I’ll see a mother with a invalid child holding her hand out while standing outside a grocery store, a blind man with a brother or neighbor helping him request donations at a traffic light. There is generally some handicapped person in  a wheel chair holding out a jar at an intersection. People from other cultures can find these sights disturbing but within the culture here, there is a quiet understanding.

Those who have help those who cannot help themselves. I see it in so many levels here. If your life is blessed with a car then you financially aid those that are walking blind or in wheelchairs when they stand asking for help. If you live in a nicer house with a number of electric appliances, you pay the highest rate for electricity so that the poor who use little receive their electric free. The emotional benefit is a wonderful feel-good. There is also the added benefit of being free of guilt or shame in having while living amongst those who don’t. The benefit that comes on the energy or spiritual level is the highest reward. It is what is often referred to as The Golden Rule.

Beads As Seeds of Change

In an earlier post I told a story of trying  to help some single mothers in my pueblo of Honduras. There was a time in my life when I was a single mom. After years of being self-employed  I did not qualify for aid, not even food stamps.Family was not helping. I think this is why I felt the need to try to help these two women who were struggling to survive. Not being able to care financially for their children is the greatest fear of single moms. They often see their only alternative is in finding another man to help them, but another man can bring more problems. 

I had grandiose plans of what I could do to assist these women, but the Universe was much wiser. The results that came in under my design were meager but were enough to confirm that I was headed in the right direction; I  was just taking the wrong mode of travel. As my little project evolved, greater than I could have ever expected, a second more personal project was birthed. This became my bead adventure. I was impressed to ask my friends and family to send me a bead as a birthday gift. I was going to create a necklace of oneness for my 65^th birthday. The process became a beautiful journey of self-awareness.  This bead adventure reconnected me to a time when the kindness of others  was the hand up I needed.

All that has occurred during this year has been  a journey under direction of a Higher Power. The two women I wanted to help have now become a program of help that is strengthening a community. As more women are being brought to my attention, I wondered where the money would come from to supply the help they needed. There are contributions from interested and caring people but it was also about that time that I felt impressed to share this beautiful crafting idea in a book. My birthday idea became a how-to book of crafting relationships with beads  along with a beautiful adventure for the soul. The idea and story of connection is creating a ripple; other women are making their own strands of connection. This heart connection has already extended to many different points around the globe and is connecting with my little beach community of El Porvenir. Here, royalties from the  book are supporting a growing Single Mom’s Project. What a beautiful gift of sharing.  Follow the Mother's Project   
Learn more:  www.wisdompathway.com