I was talking to one of my favorite people in the whole world a few days ago. She asked how the money marathon was going. It lead into a very insightful conversation for me. (Thank you my Liz!) I finally connected a few dots in this journey.
The first dot? When I don’t spend money, I sure have a lot of time on my hands. (Well, discounting the last week of constantly changing diapers but….) And with that time comes more self-awareness. I have time to think. And many of those thoughts have been tough to have. Because…
The second dot? I have a lot of things. Things. Stuff. I live “rich” compared to most people in this world. I have a warm house, so much food and so many things that make my life comfortable. Stuff isn’t bad. BUT it sometimes gets in the way of the important things. Which lead me to my third dot…
I had the opportunity this month to put myself in other people’s shoes. I had time to read blogs and articles and books. And when I put myself in another person’s shoes, I came away changed. I had time to look at the pictures of young men, living in terrible housing situations, making it by because that’s what they have to do. I saw children’s feet blistered and broken because of the lack of shoes. I “heard” moms cry out in frustration that they wish they could help their child be healed, completely.
When I stop and think of that other person’s life, the problems and frustrations of my own life very quickly move aside. It’s hard to stop and think. It’s hard to sit in the reality that there are children who go to bed, every night, hungry, cold and without anyone to sing them a song or rock them to sleep if they are scared.
If anything, this 30 day marathon has taught me that life is not fair. Here I am, “saving” all this money because I have the choice to do so (a choice that I wish I had done a LONG, LONG time ago) when so many people will never have that option.
I’m so glad I did this. I also can see that I can’t go back to the way I lived before. Yes, we will take a family vacation. We will have to shop for clothes, we will celebrate special occasions. BUT this time around, with much more intentionality than before.
I was born in Jos, Nigeria many years ago. I spent the next nineteen years living in Liberia, Kenya and Ethiopia.
It’s amazing how powerful this experience has been for so many of us. I think the earthquake in Haiti has really put things in perspective, but the fact of the matter is that every single day, somebody somewhere is in need of the most basic things necessary for survival: food, water, clothing, shelter. Not to mention an education that has the potential to pull themselves out of poverty. It’s easy to forget just how good we have it. Hopefully 30 days of Nothing will continue to have an impact on my mindset for long after the “experiment” ends!