Let's Make A Difference

It's time to play everyone's favorite game (which can easily become everyone's favorite way of life) .   .   . Let's Make A Difference!

 

So do we choose what is behind door number one?  Perhaps we would rather go to door number two?  What do you think?  Is number three the best choice?  Life isn't really a game, but we are faced with many decisions along the way.  Which ones should we choose?  Which ones are best for us, and best for others as well?

 

There are many ways to make a difference in this world, and it isn't just about trading that boiled egg in your purse for a new car (huh?  how many of you got that one?).  Think about it.  What can you do to bring positive change to this world?  What can you do that will be good both now and for generations to come?  What can you do that will really make a difference?

 

The clock is ticking.  It would be nice if we could all make it to the bonus round!  Let's do it!  Let's Make A Difference!!

 

(My guilty pleasure is watching old game shows on buzzr and GSN).

Give today

Today is Giving Tuesday. It happens each year on the Tuesday right after Thanksgiving, which is today. Many organizations rely on this day for a huge chunk of their income, so we're talking big time giving here folks. I know that money doesn't grow on trees, but there are so many worthy charities out their that can use a hand, and I hope that some of you can oblige.

We have a wonderful sense of gratitude each year on Thanksgiving Day and then we turn to corporate greed on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Supposedly we are buying gifts for others, but how many of us really are and how many of us are spending money we cannot even afford? Besides money though, we can give of our time and we can share the information with others.

 

You would be amazed how much good you can do!  It doesn't have to be huge amounts either because your donations are added to those of others and together the collection can be quite impressive.  Not sure who is most deserving?  Check out the Giving Tuesday website at https://www.givingtuesday.org/ and see the many ways you can get involved.

 

Don't think you cannot afford to participate.  Giving Tuesday is not for rich people, it is for all people.  As I said, there are a lot of ways to participate and donating money does not have to mean donating large sums.  The important thing is involvement.  Join me, won't you?

World AIDS Day

Commemorating World AIDS Day is more important this year than ever because for the first time since its inception the US administration is refusing to acknowledge it. That does not stop us from gathering, sharing, remembering, mourning, and pledging to continue the fight to get to zero.

First, I want to invite you to share the names of loved ones in the comment section. Feel free to also comment with words of encouragement. We have come a long way, but there is still a long way to go.

I'm also going to personally remember by watching a movie later today. And the Band Played On is a 1993 American television film docudrama based on the best-selling 1987 non-fiction book of the same name by Randy Shilts.  For those too young to remember, it gives a good history of the early days of HIV/AIDS.  I think it is important to remember where we have been in order to get to where we need to go.

I participate in AIDS Walk every year, because it is still important.  We cannot forget.  World AIDS Day is important.  Just because our government isn't supporting it this year, doesn't make it unimportant.  Let us always remember and always continue working for the day when AIDS is only a mention in the history books.

How many

Hearing this same question several times in reference to the lgbtq community, I just HAVE to say something. In reference to same sex marriage, I heard it asked "Why should we be concerned about such a small group of the population?" This month I have heard two different people saw the same thing about our transgender sisters and brothers. Just yesterday, I heard someone on television ask why bathroom accommodations should be made when there are so few people involved. I can recall back in the early days of AIDS there was concern about the blood supply, and it was said that too few people were involved to make testing of the blood worthwhile.

How many does it take? When will we stop discriminating. Justification of our various prejudices has often been linked to numbers. If a race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or any other group is in the minority, some folks think that is reason to discriminate. What about abused animals?  Are tons of dogs, cats, horses, or other animals mistreated in your community? It isn't the number that we should be concerned about, because any abuse, yes ANY, is too much.   "Not many of them, so they don't count."

WRONG!

Everyone counts. Everyone is important. I'm sorry if I seem to keep getting up on my soapbox, but I have to say this. In fact, I want to scream it from the rooftops! All lives matter. Everyone should be able to live a full and rich life without fear or intimidation. Everyone. It doesn't matter how many. Now let me be clear. I'm not saying that any action is okay. We aren't talking about what folks do, but rather who folks are. Discrimination based on identity is wrong.

let's make some good news

There has just been too much bad news lately. I'm tired of seeing so much hate. I am very tired of seeing innocent people dying. I am saddened by the recent celebrity deaths. There seems to be nothing but bad news. But, it doesn't have to be that way!

 

First a couple of things:  there ARE good things happening in this world, we just aren't hearing enough about them.  For some reason, the mainstream media tends to pay more attention to the negative stories than the positive ones.  We need to speak up and let them know we want ALL the news, especially those good stories.  Secondly, when we see bad things happening, let's all work a little harder to turn things around and get a more positive outcome.

 

Now I am not so naïve as to think that everything can be turned around overnight, but if we don't try, we might never know how much good we can do.  Of course we cannot put an end to the deaths of famous people.  Death is part of life.  We can work toward a world without suicide though.  We can have better resources available so nobody every has to think that is the only alternative.

 

There might not ever be a day when every single story in the newspaper is upbeat and positive, but I sure as heck want to work toward that day.  Don't you?

Rejoice!

The word "rejoice" means to show or feel that you are very happy about something. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is traditionally the happiest time of the year. Church-goers might recognize the Scripture verses from yesterday that contain the word "rejoice." Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice (Philippians 4:4) and Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16).  The common greeting in the malls and restaurants we frequent even urges happiness.

When I see people sleeping on the sidewalk because they have no place to call home, it's hard to rejoice.  When I see people being shot by the police because of their race, it's very hard to rejoice.  When children are taking their own lives because they are bullied and left to feel worthless and unloved, I find it very difficult to be happy.  When students carry guns on to school campuses and open fire on their fellow students, how can I even think of rejoicing?

We each have free will and we each have an opportunity, I think even a responsibility, to get involved and to do good things.  That's the whole theme of this daily blog.  Each one of us can make a difference.  Is the world perfect?  Of course not!  It's so easy sometimes to see all the gloom and doom that it easy to throw our hand in the air and give up, but change doesn't happen that way.  Sometimes making things better requires a little work.  Amid all the bad there is always some good too.  In that good, we should rejoice, as we build on it to make more good.

Ask yourself this question: Do you consistently look for reasons to rejoice, even when your own circumstances or events in the world make it difficult to endure?  Perhaps that could be a starting point.  Look for the good and work to create more good, and then .   .   . rejoice!

Sadness at a time of joy

Thanksgiving weekend is a time of joy for most Americans. Normally we gather together with family and friends and enjoy wonderful feasts while watching football and parades and preparing for a month of holiday parties. Hopefully we spend some of the day doing what the day was actually set aside for - giving thanks. There have been times though when this joyful holiday is also a day of sadness. 

Those of you old enough will recall that President John F Kennedy was shot and killed just five days before Thanksgiving back in 1963. The new President, Lyndon Johnson announced on Thanksgiving morning that Cape Canaveral, in Florida "shall be known hereafter as Cape Kennedy." (The old name was restored less than ten years later).

Already suffering great sadness for the 918 souls lost in the Jonestown, Guyana massacre, San Francisco was hit by another tragedy back in 1978 - the murder in City Hall of two elected officials. 

Today marks the anniversary of those assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. People waking up on this date in 1978 saw a headline in the San Francisco Chronicle that read MOSCONE, MILK SLAIN--DAN WHITE IS HELD. Less than a month before Christmas, with San Francisco decorated in its holiday splendor, there was great sadness at a time of joy. 

Lately there has been a lot of negative news, including the shooting of two National Guardsmen yesterday and a horrible fire in Hong Kong where at least 75 people perished and many are still missing.  Our country seems more divided than I have ever seen it.  Still, on this Thanksgiving Day, even in the midst of so much sadness, there are still reasons to be thankful.

Never give up, I always say.  We can make things better.  We can create more and more reasons to give thanks!