Listen to the In Good Company podcast today! It is about social enterprise, and it is hosted by Tom Graham and Reese Fernandez-Ruiz. I won their Season 1 giveaway and I am so happy! (Photo from In Good Company)
When I started blogging last May 2017, I was already supporting advocacies that I personally believe in. I have previously written about my World Vision journey here on my blog, and I am grateful that I started sponsoring a child even when I was only dependent on a student’s allowance. I learned how to allocate funds for my kid (I used to pay monthly). I used to spend majority of my money on food and academic readings, so a monthly obligation to educate a child was a big responsibility. It gave me a sense of purpose that was beyond my duty to report to my classes. It ultimately gave me hope, that as I was approaching graduation, I was also contributing to a child’s future.
I carried on with child sponsorship. Adulting proved to be challenging. There were months of unemployment, when I would depend on my meager savings. This did not stop me from contributing to World Vision. I have learned that paying annually makes the responsibility easier to bear. Worrying about a monthly contribution is reduced to a once-a-year payment, and as I have previously shared, the brain does not perceive the difference between what is imagined and what is real. I have learned to perceive that the yearly contribution, albeit being a higher amount of money, is easier to bear as it is not a monthly priority and I have imagined it to be a bigger source of joy as there is no greater time to share my blessings than the Christmas season (when I usually send my annual offering).
Now that I am already thirty-one years old, my advocacies have increased. I shop for toiletries and personal needs at Human Nature because I believe in a brand that provides jobs to those who need them most. I still sponsor a kid with World Vision, and I have recently celebrated my tenth year anniversary with them. I also volunteer from time to time, with my most recent one for Rise Against Hunger Philippines. The meal packing event put my worries as a jobseeker in perspective. Indeed, my worries are nothing compared to what the hungry go through every single day.
The same goes with my pledge to support social enterprises like Human Nature. My being unemployed is nothing compared to being part of a marginalized community where opportunities are limited. To have businesses finally providing them with a decent livelihood is wonderful, because it also allows consumers like me to cheer them on with every purchase I make.
My blog may be primarily about my life with hypothyroidism, but my battlecry is wellness through mindfulness. I would never have achieved wellness without the enrichment and fulfillment I have experienced while supporting causes bigger than my challenges. I hope that you will also find an advocacy to share your blessings with. Before you know it, you will be blessed tenfold in return.
***Comments are welcome at speakoutsam@gmail.com***