...about my dreams and visions for the future. It's not something I just tell any Random Joe, so feel privileged that I'm sharing some of them with you, my Dear Readers. I've been feeling pretty down about the state of my finances and personal life, and have been really anxious to "get the show on the road", but I realized something important, powerful. I hold the key to making these things happen. I'm not at all saying that God doesn't play a role, I'm merely saying that the things we want and need are in many ways, up to us.
I was settling down for the evening, after finishing a workout last week, and managed to catch a repeat of the day's Oprah. I'm not what you would call a fanatic of the show, I just find bits and pieces useful from time to time. The topic of the show was vision boards. For those of you that don't know what a vision board is, it's a physical manifestation of the things you feel you want, on a gut level, to be happy and get all there is out of life. They are usually collages put together with magazine clippings, quotes, and photos that you assign meaning to. You can also make a list. These are placed in a prominent place in your home to remind you to hold onto the visions you have for yourself and your life. For some people it's places they want to travel to, representations of what they want in a mate, career or personal goals, or that ever popular "perfect body" they want to have. For me, it's all of those things. I've just started cutting out clippings and hope to get this going soon.
Those of you that know me in more than just a blogging sense, know that it's my dream to start a charity that helps find funding for families dealing with cancer. This can be to pay for treatment, to cover living expenses while being treated, or even to put a child through college. I lost my father to this disease when I was just a baby, and his compassion and giving heart inspires me daily to make this a reality. I've been so down lately, when I've looked at my own finances, that I haven't looked around at all the opportunities to start small and give the way that my dad did while he was here.
A while ago, I started collecting soda tabs from aluminum cans because I'd read that the Ronald McDonald House recycles them for cash and helps to pay for children to receive dialysis treatments. This concept has been tugging at my heartstrings for a while now, and while on the phone with a friend I learned that a mutual acquaintance with a restaurant is doing the same thing. They set up glass jars on their tables and ask that anyone consuming a beverage out of a can place their tabs in the jars. This opened my eyes. I know owners of local eateries, coffeehouses, and bars, office workers, and school employees that would likely love to support such a cause. The cans were going to be thrown away, or recycled, anyhow. Who wouldn't want to do some good with their garbage?
It's a small thing that I can do now, to prove that I can someday be trusted with something much larger. I intend to contact the owners of these establishments and see if we can work out a deal where I pick up their donations once a month, and turn them into the Ronald McDonald House in their names. I'll keep you posted on how this turns out, and encourage you to start a similar program in your town. Do what you can with what you have!
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