“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

I get stressed easily.  On the outside, I think I handle it super well.  On the inside?  I'm Michael Bay caliber explosions.  The worst is that I'm also spoiled so there's really no reason for me to even get stressed in the first place.  My life is coming together in a way I never felt possible while the people I love around me are struggling and it makes me realize how petty I can be. 

In the wake of the Puerto Rico and Las Vegas tragedies, I feel like I should be doing more to give back.  I've been skating by in my community.  Thoughts and prayers aren't going to help but I don't have the funds to donate at the moment.  I suppose I shouldn't feel too detached because I have given two small loans to friends in the last 6 months.  But I do.  I feel like I need to do more than just share memes and infographics on social media.  But how do I be more proactive?  How do I make a difference? 

My time is precious and it's about to become even more scarce as I embark on these new pathways.  So how do people do it?  How are there such truly great people in this world?  How can I be one?  I think my grace period of "You've got a lot going on right now." is coming to an end.  Why is this even bothering me so much?  I just feel like a really terrible person for having my shit together finally.

Today's subject line quote is from Ralph Waldo Emerson.