From an American on Labor Day
Today is Labor Day. According to the Department of Labor, it celebrates the social and economic achievements of American workers. Specifically honoring the “contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of the United States.”
Many of you know, I am not in the United States anymore. I’m traveling around the world this year (I wrote about it and recorded a podcast episode about it last year). So, I feel like my only home is wherever I am at the moment.
But I am an American. And my status as an American citizen provides me with great privilege for which I am so grateful.
I am grateful for all the privilege that allows me to do what I am doing. It has taken hard work, sacrifice, and courage — for sure — but others with the same traits could still be at a disadvantage due to factors arguably outside their control.
As I travel, I realize more and more how small our planet is, and I find myself saddened by how little we care about it.
The two passions I have found myself cultivating through my travels, apart from my passion for self-awareness and teaching are the following:
1. Creating a world with as much of a level playing field as possible.
2. Protecting and cherishing this planet that we inhabit for as long as we can.
Call me sappy, but I love the human race. We are incredibly flawed, beautifully broken, and we allow our egos to take us down and get in our way all the time.
But humans are awesome. Humans are what make life worth living. Connecting with humans is a passion. We all have so much good in us. We are all capable of so much.
At the time of the genesis of Labor Day, much of the “well-being” connected back to material goods that we created for ourselves as citizens of the USA, but when I think today about our “well-being” it has almost nothing to do with material things.
Since embracing minimalism and giving away nearly all of my possessions, and noticing I feel no less happy, I am even more convinced that our “well-being” is all about our own mental or “self” health. Practicing self-acceptance, building self-awareness, and demonstrating self-accountability.
Sometimes I feel a bit overcome by the emotion I feel when I think about the beauty inside each of us. Especially when I see us not maximizing our lives, maximizing our joy, maximizing our potential.
But I am on a quest to improve as many lives as I can. I have never felt as determined as I do now….and for those of you who know me personally, you know I have always been determined AF.
