What I Don’t Have

On Sunday, driving home from a late breakfast with a dear friend where we had talked at length about a lot of deep and powerful topics, I flicked on the radio in my car to find distraction. Something a little more cheery.

The last time I had been in the car was Friday night as I drove home from work, and I had listed to NPR. So when I turned on the radio on Sunday, what I found waiting for me was the unmistakable voice of Garrison Keillor and his show “A Prairie Home Companion“.

Oh lord, really? That show gives me the hives. To be honest, NPR kind of does too. I do like All Things Considered on an evening commute, though.

That said, the sonorous voice of Mr. Keillor managed to lure me in and I listened to him tell a long, drawn out story (can he tell any other kind?) the point of which is that a penny given by a poor man has more value than a dollar given by a rich man because the penny means so much more. The poor man is giving what he doesn’t have.

Which then lead to a life lesson of giving what you don’t have to the world.

A short Google search led me to discover this is all a riff on a Wayne Dyer speech, which lead me to break out in even more hives. Lots and lots of itchy hives.

So for as much as I wanted to forget this little parable, somehow I have not been able to.

This idea of digging deep and giving what you don’t have, not just in terms of money, but of yourself, has somehow found a home inside of me.

Today as I contemplated the blank page and watched the cursor blink at me, awaiting my command, I went inside my head and asked what I wanted to write about. What am I feeling? What’s on my mind?

What’s on my mind are very dark, angry thoughts. I thought of writing about these dark blotches on my psyche, spewing my venom out onto the page, which, truly, can be very uplifting and releasing.

But is that good fodder to publish to the world on a blog page?

Maybe not.

That’s when the phrase came to me again. Give what you don’t have.

What I don’t have right now is peace, joy, happiness, calm and ease within my own skin.

How possibly can I give what I really don’t have? What about the old phrase “you can’t feed someone from an empty vessel”?

Hmph. Determined to see this through, I set out to write a blog post giving cheer and optimism to the world because both are in rather short supply for me right now.

Um. Yeah.

Where to start?

Google, of course.

And so here’s what I found. I share it because it made me smile. Gave me a little hope. Brought the light back on in my eyes, if only for a moment.

Now I give that to you.

The gift of optimism:








Image from Babble.com



About Author

Karen Fayeth

Comments

  • Natalie

    It ain’t easy being green or brown or worried or anxious or angry or sleep deprived or all those other tags.

    But… Will you remember what troubles you today say, 5 years from now? Will you think back on this time and smack your head on your desk for say, the time wasted worrying? Would you wish to have spent the precious time differently?

    Dunno. Just pondering… I do this all the time, too. Some people don’t worry at all but I just don’t get that as it seems it’s in my genes.

    Did you know that going under water in the bathtub actually does shut out the world for a bit? Just remember to come up for air… Wherever you may be…
    :)

    • Karen Fayeth

      Nat – Trouble is, I live in a building where they pay for water, which is good. But also means they installed these super shallow bathtubs. I can barely get my big ol’ cabeza under the water.

      You know what I really want to try? Those sensory depravation chambers. I would looooove that. I think there is a place in San Francisco. The very thought freaks out The Good Man.

  • New Mexican

    I saw the cartoon you posted and chuckled but saw past the optimisim to the disaster which was bound to happen.

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