The older I get, the more grateful I am for people whose individual choices have led to widespread movements of hope and creativity today.

Much spiritual wisdom today comes from how people dealt with war, racism and other pain decades ago.

In July 1942 when I was born, the world was at war. Now many who went through the worst of that war are guiding us to a more peaceful and meaningful humanity, like Auschwitz survivor and Nobel peace prize winner Elie Weisel and Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor and peace activist Takashi Tanemori.

In 1950, I was just discovering the ugliness of racism. Then in 1952, photos of Albert Schweitzer getting a Nobel peace prize for his “Reverence for Life” philosophy and free service as a doctor in Africa provided many pictures of the humanity and dignity of black people. In 1955, Emmett Till’s mama had the courage to expose the wrong done to her murdered son, whose only crime was allegedly daring to whistle at a white woman. Rosa Parks’ memory of Emmett Till’s death helped her gain the courage not to move to the back of the bus later that year, which launched the Birmingham, Alabama bus boycott that helped Dr. Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders move forward.

Racism may not be gone in the South or anywhere else, but today I can smile freely at a black man without causing him trouble. Today the playing field for jobs, housing and even the White House is becoming more level every day.

In the 50′s, the public was obsessed with technology and big cars, fueled by cheap gas. Rachel Carson’s publication in 1962 of Silent Spring, dedicated only to Albert Schweitzer, sparked the environmental movement.

Today there is a growing recognition of our interdependence not just with other humans but also with animals, plants, the water, and the air.

In 1964, when I graduated from college, spirituality was rarely discussed in the context of work. Today, “work” increasingly includes ways to integrate spirituality and creativity into all work — paid or unpaid. Money itself recently has come openly to the spirit and work table, bringing with it a call to create an economy that works well for all of us — in body, mind and soul.

These are just a few of the sweeping movements that began with one or more committed people who chose to meet a challenge with love and courage, then work with others until gradually ideas that once seemed radical have become the norm.

If I had to pick one person whose spiritually-based work is most relevant to our crises today, it’s Viktor Frankl.

He turned his concentration camp experiences in World War II into a psychological laboratory on the nature and power of meaning in human lives. Here are just a few of his tips: 

• Whatever our situation, we always can choose how we meet the situation.
• Despair is suffering without meaning. The moment you see meaning in your suffering, you can see how to turn tragedies into personal triumph
• You can’t find happiness by making it a target. Happiness in the form of love, laughter, even orgasm, installs itself by itself when you are engaged in life.

Frankl quotes Jesus’ contemporary Rabbi Hillel (30 BS-9 AD), who is often reported to have said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?” Frankl notes that we all have a task or mission, to be done just by us and no one else. “If I am not doing it, who will do it?” If we were immortal, we could postpone this mission. But since we are mortals who are designed to care about more than just discharging tension or satisfying our egos, then our fundamental reality is, “If I am not doing it right now, when shall I do it? If I am doing it only for my own sake, what am I?”

Right now, many of us are hurting spiritually, physically and economically. Many of us hurt from not knowing our work or seeing the means to do it. Fortunately, we’ve got lots of role models who can show us that in healing ourselves, we can help heal others, and vice versa.

What work calls you now, spiritually, economically or otherwise? What can you learn from these role models to take at least one step along your own best path?

As always, many blessings, Pat McHenry Sullivan

Yesterday’s post, “No More Martyrs,” really touched some nerves.

Martyrdom provides so many goodies, like being able to push our own agenda in the guise of helpfulness, riding the quick high of “Ain’t I wonderful?” or avoiding a personal challenge.

It’s fess-up time. When I started this blog, I committed to one post a day. That came mostly out of feeling called to host a dialogue about the no.1 thing on most people’s minds today (including my own) from a perspective of practicality, spirituality, and emotions. I wanted to create the best of my mother’s and our neighbor Billie Smith’s over-the-fence daily sharing of concerns, joys, jokes, tips, resources, blessings and stuff I was not allowed to hear.

Unfortunately, my best creative calls can become burdened with pride and a feeling that nothing I do is good enough. Thus, for two days last week I let heavy client burdens and time-consuming holiday events keep me from fulfilling my own promise to play in this blog about money every day. For another day, I focused on the fact that nobody seemed to notice the missing posts, so why bother?

Then church happened, which at Unity of Berkeley www.unityberkeley.org is always a creative, rousing affair. That’s where I got deeply in touch with the roots of my rage the night before at the “everything will fall apart if you don’t take care of it” notion that’s so pervasive in the perennial Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” And that’s where I took part in one of the most joyous service projects of my life.

Throughout the worship service, many of us had hugged teddy bears tagged with the name of the child to whom they will go next week. With the hugs went prayers and blessings.

Unity of Berkeley has had a tradition of adopting a family or two, at Christmas, providing them with some necessities and dreams. This year we also adopted a homeless shelter, so for the last month people have brought in necessities like soap, toothbrushes and washcloths. After church, big tables filled the vestibule for a party of sorting and wrapping.

Like any great service party, this one was filled with true good will and lots of laughter. No one knew who had actually paid for things or who was just there for the fun. And as one person who I know is going through financial hard times put it, “giving to others helps me get out of despair and into hope.”

My job was the most fun. We had decided to give about 85 women in another homeless shelter the spirit-lifting gift of jewelry. One member had donated almost that many necklaces she and her mom had made. Many of the women in the community had donated piles of good stuff from their own jewelry boxes, and another brought in piles of beautiful gift bags. On Christmas day, each of the women at that shelter will get a bag with 3-4 fun treasures.

As we wrapped, ideas popped for how to have great fun for the holidays and be in financial reality. A re-gifting party where we each bring wonderful things that we are ready to let go with a blessing, and people just take what they wish for themselves or a for another, then give the rest to charity. A joint viewing of PBS’ Nutcracker ballet with a potluck beforehand. And more, of course.

Is there anything richer than community?

Just after I posted the “No More Martyrs” bit, the daily Huffington Post announcement alerted me to a wonderful post by Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist. He felt humbled, he wrote, that Barack Obama’s platform included a reference to a “Craigslist for service. However, Newmark said he’d prefer to see that as “only a metaphorical reference to the need for greater service to others, with the spirit and culture of trust of craigslist.” He then offered some great ideas and resources.  www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-newmark/a-craigslist-for-service_b_150924.html

So, back to a daily practice of paying attention to how I earn, spend, invest and share money from a perspective of spirituality, emotions, and practicality.I hope you’ll join me and come back real soon with your thoughts and inspiration.

May all the work you do to be in financial reality be joyous, even when the way is hard. As the great master of service, Albert Schweitzer, once said,”there are two antidotes for the misery of life: music and cats.” I bet you can think of some more.

Pat McHenry Sullivan

Please leave a comment by clicking here.