In the midst of the very worst moments, I knew that I could never look the other way again.
In the midst of the very worst moments, I knew that I could never look the other way again.There comes a time in your life when you confront a reality that is so unacceptable, it leaves a scar on your soul, shattering those rose-colored glasses.
Those moments are pivot points.
After my rock bottom last year, I vacillated back and forth between a violent anger at the betrayal of a system that was supposed to protect me and the more healing determination to make it better; to accept a bigger purpose.
This morning I took a tour of the Salt Lake YWCA’s campus, starting with the Salt Lake Family Justice Center, a collaborative venture that combines the resources of multiple organizations to deliver critical services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in one location.
It was a small breakfast gathering of donors following the Over the Edge fundraiser that brought in more than $90,000 in donations for this essential homebase.
The organizer and I chatted about opportunities to get more involved, noting that I was the first to commit to the event and start fundraising (thanks to many of you, we hit the $1,000 goal and secured a $1,000 match from the District Attorney).
I vividly remember opening the email announcing the fundraiser on July 5th.
It was like a calling – the combination of raising funds for victims of domestic violence while doing something new and a little scary (had never rappelled down the side of a building before).
I’m not sure the organizers thought about it in quite that way.
To me, it was an opportunity to make one small step toward changing the reality of a broken system and maybe helping one other woman change her reality, while boosting my own resiliency.
Creating a positive legacy out of your darkest experiences brings so much light and peace back into your life.
It may consist of seemingly small steps, but you never know where that journey will lead.
Plus, giving back is a surefire way to unleash that compassionate, grateful, resilient self who can and will live out a life that leaves an impact.
What’s the deeper purpose behind your comeback?
What a cool charity event, and good on you for raising funds for a cause that surely needs help.
I struggle with the idea of a bigger purpose for my comeback. Mostly, I want to be closer to the ‘me’ that I used to be: more interested in writing and creating, more confident, less apathetic and lazy. It’s poorly defined but that’s kind of where I’m at.
I am terrible at giving (time or money) so that probably connect to the lack of a larger purpose: of giving to something bigger than me. Still, the money stays in the wallet most of the time, under the guise of the big honking financial independence goal.
I run into the same struggle. As a single parent now, I have less time to work and less business revenue as a result. It’s hard to give up a portion of something that is critical to your big picture.
For me, giving back didn’t become fun or an important part of my life until I found a cause that actually mattered to me, and accepted that we what give, we get.
Plus, we all have opportunities to give back in different ways. You give back in many ways by sharing your experiences and wisdom through your blog. Perhaps an innovative nonprofit that teaches financial literacy to refugees would be a fit for volunteering or donating 🙂