How to Help the World




When I volunteered and travelled to under developed countries, there was just so much I wanted to do to help! At times, I felt handicapped to make decisions to help others improve their living conditions, hardships, and impact on the environment.

It was an eye opener to realize that even to breathe clean air and drink fresh water, those are privileges that some people assume every human has access to.


Observing the way I lived in the USA, it was very easy to live in a manner that was described as, "out of sight, out of mind." I felt guilty to return back to that type of lifestyle! I mean, what happens to our food waste, the detergent chemicals we use to clean, and electronics we throw away? It made me want to do something but I did not know where to start. There were so many causes that I could support, like:

  • Animal cruelty
  • Modern day slavery
  • Human sex trafficking
  • Poverty
  • Pollution and Global Warming 
  • Racism 
  • Immigration crisis
  • War
Trying to bring world peace seemed a lot more difficult than I thought... Plus, I just felt so overwhelmed. After speaking with friends and people I met while traveling about my dilemma, they gave me some great advice. This is what they all shared with me and how we can positively impact each other:


(Cuba 2017)

PEACE WITH YOURSELF
We all want to be happy and eliminate any type of suffering like hardship, pain, and loss for ourselves and others. But, trying to take on every issue is too much on top of personal problems! In times like these, meditation has helped me to stay stress free. Even daily prayer is effective too. In fact, I think this will assist in accepting that the world will always have issues. What matters are the small changes within your control that you can do each day that will make a big difference.


CHANGES W/IN YOUR POWER 
A few things that can make a difference and are really easy to change are:
  • Volunteer or work for a humanitarian organization
  • Eat fruits and veggies when they are in season. Ex) Farmers markets or start your own garden! 
  • Thrift shop. Ex) Plato's Closet, my sisters' closets, etc!
  • Support small businesses and buy local
  • Eco-friendly products like soaps and cleaning detergents
  • REDUSE. Reuse. Recycle. (Donate!!! Not sure about you but, I realized that I use the same 5 outfit combos each week...lol No need for extra stuff that you do not use but someone else could!)
  • Carpool, bike, or use public transportation 
PICK A CAUSE
To prevent you from feeling overwhelmed, choose a cause to support. Also, you can focus on something you love, which is even better :) That way, you will be more likely to give all your efforts towards it that will really make a difference. My sister currently does this and is making great changes!

 DECIDE TO BE POSITIVE & HAPPY
Even when things do not work out like we expect them to, trying to make the best of the situation is essential to promote positive thinking. Plus, it will help you to adapt better, increase your problem solving skills, and gain a new perspective. We have the ability to be happy in positive when negative situations occur! However, it will take conditioning the mind to think positive regardless of the circumstance.


 LEARN TO LOVE EVERYONE FOR WHO THEY ARE
This is the most important to me. We should learn to love and accept people of different cultures, religious groups, languages, races, genders, etc. Being unique makes everyone special and the world more interesting. Even though we take different paths in our life to seek out happiness, at the end of it all, we are all human with a common goal which is to be happy! I believe reminding ourselves of this common goal can help us to forget about discriminating between each other and be more loving and accepting.

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