Hey, You Matter To Me....

How much money does it take to live on in this economy? With rapidly raising prices and the cost of every day bills alone sometimes it seems like nobody but the rich are truly living anymore. So many of us are merely surviving.

Some of us are paycheck to paycheck and for people are disabled that 'check' only comes once a month and is barely enough to make ends meet if it does that. What happens when there is an emergency need for those people? How do they handle it?

Most of us, meaning those who are disabled or barely getting by, have to save up for the emergency stuff that comes up and sometimes that can take months. Months without a refrigerator because it broke, months with a a washer or drying because it died on us, months without lawn care because the lawn mower died and we don't have the money to fix it or buy another, months without heat or AC depending where you live and what is more important.

For some it isn't even the emergencies that get to us but some of our daily needs like toilet paper or soap. And forget eating right. Healthy food costs immensly more than food that isn't so good for us.

Doctors insist that we eat better, change our diet and other such things. I've looked at them and asked before if they'd like to buy my groceries. We do what we can to survive but it's not always healthy, safe, or easy.

People who aren't quite so bad off often forget how bad it can truly get. Yes they are struggling too and I don't mean to slight their difficulties because we all have our own path to walk and our own mountains to climb, but for someone living on a very limited income sometimes the world seems like it just doesn't want you here anymore, it seems impossible. Yet somehow most of us manage in some small way.

I look at my bank balance some months and know that for the last week we will have very little food in the house and pray we don't run out of other vital needs. I wonder how I'll afford all the medications that my husband and I require. And then I remember a friend of mine who is living on FAR less. I wonder how he manages. I wonder how he keeps moving forward. I know he doesn't think anyone sees or acknowledges his struggle but I DO see it. I try my best to help without cutting ourselves to thin, but sometimes it's just not possible and those times I worry terribly.

I wonder sometimes how many people don't see the real struggle of so many. How many people simply think these folks are making too big of a deal or whining about nothing. I wonder sometimes how many people forget that there are other people in the world besides themselves.

I have never forgotten. Never gotten so lost in my own problems that I grow unaware of the struggles of others in the world around me. I have always done my best to help where I can and when I'm able, even if it's only a small thing I can do.

Recently I have not done anything so big as the last thing we did, which was to drive 1100 miles to go stay with a friend who was drowning in life. I haven't because I'm still there trying to keep him from drowning. Someday we will move on to the next place we are supposed to be and it will always be to that person in need, that one we can help. I can't help everyone and it took me a LONG time to learn that but if I can help one, or at least one at a time, then I'm doing something! If more people did something, anything, to reach out to someone in real need, maybe the world wouldn't be such a frightening place to be.


So never be afraid to ask. It may or may not work or happen but there ARE good people in this world who will help when they can. The hope this has restored in my soul is more than any dollar amount is worth. The Love I feel for these people, most who I do not know, is sent back to them on angel's wings and I hope they feel it.

I'm not saying ask every time you are short on food or toiletries or those little every day needs that most of us have learned to simply get through but sometimes, when it's really big and important and seems impossible, even the smallest show of support from friends, loved ones, and even perfect strangers, can change your day. It can change your outlook. It can change your fear into hope and in hope you will find strength you forgot you had.

Stop being afraid! The worst that can happen is people say NO or they ignore you and really I'm finding that seldom happens. Someone out there has been where you are or they fear being where you are and they will reach back and try to help. Someone out there is an angel hiding among the rest of the world and they want to spread that love within them to someone who needs it.

And for those of you who don't think that what you can do matters, remember that for a person in a tough situation who is asking for help isn't doing it lightly. Most of them are terrified to ask. Most of them are afraid nobody will care. Reaching back even in a small way restores HOPE, which is the greatest gift you can give.

Recently I've had to ask. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. It was frightenting and stressfull but I'm being shown the kindness of strangers CAN suprise you. One person even donated $2 and I was so touched by that $2. Why? Because I knew that was all they could do without putting themselves in a tough situation and that $2 adds up. It adds up to more than we had toward the goal before and it adds up to hope within a beaten and broken heart and soul. It adds up to more than I can even put into words because yes the $2 helps immensly but it also shows me just a little bit of the heart of that person who shared it with me. It shows me their character. And honestly I had all but lost faith in the character of the world around me until I saw THAT donation. Those who can give more do and it is loved and appreciated. It too brings me hope. But that $2 spoke volumes more than I bet that person realized. And I hope they somehow see this entry and realize what it meant for us to see it.

We are all struggling and I am aware of that. We are all in difficult places in our own lives. That is what life is about. It's about getting over hurdles that seem impossible and then seeing that we somehow survived it.

I'll leave you with this. I play on a game called Second Life. I work on there to make virtual money so that when I go to a club or any other place where the person is working and sharing of themselves in some way I can tip them. So many of us put ourselves out there every day for others and we have forgotten the value of a tip. The appreciation for someone's effort and work in their sharing a piece of themselves. I think ALL blogs should have a donation button, so that even if we only leave a dollar, someone knows that just for a moment they were appreciatated. They know for a moment they touched someone in such a way that the person felt compelled to show it.

We all matter. Whether it's you who are struggling or you who are capable of making some small difference in that person's life, we ALL matter. I think it's time we start remiding people of that fact. Hope is so easily lost in this world and sometimes a simply thank you, word of encouragement, positive attitude, or a smile can make a terrible day brighter for someone. Don't forget to leave a person better than you found them in some way. Even if all you can do is say, "hey, you matter to me and I appreciate you".