So, what does investing look like?

So, last week, I shared these thoughts, but I’ve been thinking some more!

What does investing look like?

Giving back –

Do you have a place to serve? I mean get your heart and the space under your fingernails dirty? It might physically be digging in a garden or it might be wiping down the sticky slimy tables of a shelter. Are you in a place to be vulnerable and have your heart churned? Do you have someone specifically that you invest in? Is it a young woman who is learning to practice your trade or didn’t have a mama who taught her how to dress for work? What about an elementary student who needs a strong role model in their life to teach them personal value and right from wrong? What about an organization that needs your passion or expertise…the pro bono way?

Giving beyond –

I don’t necessarily have to have “means”, but what I do have, I can give. Think about it. Can you pay for the coffee of the person in line behind you? And, through that, can you share the idea of looking beyond yourself? Can you stop and hold the door for the person behind you and smile as they pass and wonder why? Can you hold back and let the person who so desperately needs to get somewhere before you merge into your lane even if it seems like an inconvenience? What if. What if you saved the money you would spend on sweet tea in the Chick-fil-A line or at Sonic’s Happy Hour for just one week and gave that to someone who the 8 dollars would mean one more meal. I think about the things I don’t think twice
about spending money on. $3 here. $5 there. And I wonder, do I have a “neighbor” who $8 would relieve stress?

o One of my favorite organizations to give money to each year is the Arkansas Food Bank. For every $1 that you give them, they can provide 4 meals. So, the $8 above could provide 32 meals – that’s more than 3 meals a day for 1 week for 1 person.

o Another organization that I like to invest in is World Vision. Their gift catalog is something that I keep on my home office desk all year long. They have lots of options and as someone who likes to give creative gifts, I love that it allows me to be creative, meet needs and honor friends. I mean where else can you feed in the US and oversees? Where else can you “buy” a beehive, peanut butter or a duck? Think of all the possibilities for loving your loves.

Learning more –

I’m a lifetime learner. My boss so much as walked to my door on my second day of 4 hour webinars last week and reminded me. It’s true. It’s genetic. So, I come by it honestly. But, it’s ok. I think it makes me better. I like to read those silly articles that people tag and share on Facebook. I follow @OMGFacts on twitter. I’m terrible at Trivial Pursuit, but I have lots of knowledge of lots of things. Whether it’s my liberal arts college education or my sheer curiosity about life, I love to know about all kinds of things. I hate to miss out on “necessary” experiences of life. I think knowing makes you a better person. ·

Being vulnerable –

I’m brewing on a topic I’ll come back to, but perfection is boring. Vulnerable is SEXY! Vulnerable makes you (more) capable. It makes you dream. It broadens your horizons. It expands your capacity to intake and it extends your spheres of influence. In a world that is driven by insights, likes, shares, and pokes (please tell me those are gone now!), we want to look and see if our Klout score or our audience numbers reflect an increase. Instead, what if we took a break and quit judging our quality on those things and instead marked movement by availability, consistency and initiation. In those moments, we find the growth, the nurturing, the explainable.

Can you have a mid-year “one word”. If so, I’m leading out with “investing”. If not, then I’ll be on my own little island and ponder, but I want and umbrella in my drink!