Is a Splurge Really Just a Splurge?
Investing in yourself can seem like a splurge, and many people may contend that it is a wasteful expenditure. Let’s look at it another way. I contend that sharing wealth is a way of giving back.
Recently, a friend of mine was talking about her travels. She shared that she is sometimes shamed for choosing to spend money on high quality hotels when she travels. She was on an international trip and taking flack from others saying she was spending too much money for her room. Others chimed in bragging that they got their room for next to nothing. My friend mentioned that she has confidence that when she spends money on what matters to her — like a hotel room with a private bathroom — that the money will come back to her. In this way, she invests in herself, and makes space for the blessings of the universe.
Here was my thought: there is nothing to brag about for getting a room super cheap. The fact of it is: it takes money for the people who own those establishments to host you as a guest. And it takes money to pay someone to clean the room and put food on the table.
Let Your Wealth Support Another’s Honest Living
It is my opinion that when we do not pay people fairly, we contribute to a system that impoverishes others. We contribute to dehumanization and the division between classes. This is why I refuse to buy super cheap clothing. I’m can’t feel good about a $6 shirt when I know it was probably sewn by someone enslaved by wages so low and hours so long that she can’t achieve more.
I was proud of my friend for saying she used her time in an upscale hotel to care for herself. Her willingness to share her wealth also contributes to the betterment of the hotel owner, the maids and cooks she employs, the accountant and lawyer she contracts with, and, dare I say it, to the betterment of the entire world. Share wealth with the confidence that money is a currency that allows us to say to someone:
“I see you, I value you, you are worth more.”
There is No Limit on Blessings
Self care through simple luxuries is even better when the people who provide them to you are also cared for. Let us all share our blessings. The best part is, no matter how many you share, God will always give you more.
Give Back
Today is giving Tuesday and I am giving back to three organizations. Two are old favorites, and one is new simply because it is timely and important at this moment.
Hope for Justice
The mission statement of Hope for Justice is “to bring an end to modern slavery by preventing exploitation, rescuing victims, restoring lives, and reforming society.” It is astonishing to me that in 2018, people are still forced into slavery, prostitution, and indentured servitude. I’m amazed by the work of Ben Cooley and his team and grateful to my friend Crystal Burchfield for introducing them to me. I look forward to seeing the accomplishments of the graduates of Shine School in Cambodia.
National Public Radio (NPR)
NPR exists to create a more informed public through public radio. According to Bill Siemering, a member of the founding board of NPR, “National Public Radio will serve the individual, promote personal growth, regard the individual differences among men with respect and joy rather than derision and hate, celebrate the human experience as infinitely varied rather than vacuous and banal, encourage a sense of active constructive participation, rather than apathetic helplessness.”
I have listened to NPR for both news and entertainment for at least 15 years. I have spent entire Saturdays binging on Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, Car Talk, Ted Radio Hour, This American Life, and Ask Me Another. My day begins each morning with Up First. I love the variety of programming on NPR and how it keeps me informed and laughing at the ridiculously nerdy news jokes.
ThirdLove
I have been interested in trying ThirdLove for a while. After posting a recent Instastory about the woes of bra gapping, dozens of followers reached out to tell me how much they love the bras from them. When I saw that they were doing a bra for bra sale that benefited women affected by the California fires, I was like, “Okay, sign me up for this ThirdLove”.
It is often underrated how amazing a good bra can make you feel. It’s even more underrated how many women lack good undergarments and access to feminine hygiene products. So let’s get some women back in bras.
The Power of Giving Back
What a blessing and privilege it is to give back. To have confidence that the money you donate goes to organizations that aim to make a difference. Companies that aim to change lives for the better and refuse to turn a blind eye to the suffering around us. These are the organizations that make us powerful with our mutual humanity.
If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a thousand times, “When one of us rises…we all rise”. I firmly believe the money you give in good conscience to others less fortunate comes back to you 10-fold in a million different ways. Let’s do more of that.
Who are you giving to today?
