"Anything you cannot relinquish when it has outlived its usefulness possesses you.  And in this age, a great many of us are possessed by our possessions." ~ Mildred Norman

In this time of global economic instability people in the United States and Europe are suffering personal crises at rates not witnessed since the Great Depression. Some highly skilled workers have been on the unemployment rolls searching for jobs as long as eighteen months.

The economic outlook and quality of life for many people residing in developing economies is unimaginably challengingly. On a daily basis they struggle to procure such basics as clean water, food, medical treatment, safe shelter, and a better life for their children.

Now many Americans struggle with some of these same concerns. Unemployment hovers around 10% and there are still "9 million foreclosures expected by 2012, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. This is the first time that so many Americans have lived so close to the edge." (Source: The Minnesota Independent).

As we approach the New Year it is an opportune time for self-examination and reflection on our values, goals and objectives. We as Americans have ventured deep into the dark heart of materialism. Our attachments have been unveiled and now we must grapple with a philosophical battle between purpose and profit.

Our drive to live beyond our means, to finance our lifestyles both as a nation and individually has led to increased tragedy and a hardening of people's' hearts as they practice intentional oblivion. In prosperous times, we ignored the homeless person begging on the street, the service workers who lived in "that" part of town, but now we perpetrate this same indifference toward former coworkers or neighbors on the verge of foreclosure.

Unemployment, homelessness, illness and the people temporarily beset by any of these are now treated as pariah. Those who find themselves wrestling with one or more of these challenges during this tumultuous period are paring down, forging true alliances, searching for opportunities to help others, developing skills and tools, and reinventing or rediscovering themselves.

It is a time when we realize that we can never count our friends on sunny days for they all will be around. That we can only count our friends on the rainy days when the clouds are grey and lightning shakes the ground. It is then we become painfully aware of the type of people with whom we have chosen to associate. When Life delivers a sharp blow do they stay and try to heal the scars? The friends we count during these storms are the ones to commend. These people stood their ground and deserve to the label 'True Friend.'

When the rain finally stops and our new day is here, we will be amazed that after a violent storm a rainbow can appear. Fair weather friends return but their fake loyalty has been revealed. Keep sight of the friends who remained when the storm roared for they will always be there.

This is a difficult time for me as well since my job was downsized several months ago. I was scared and it has been difficult, but I chose to embrace this change and seized it as an opportunity to focus and energize my purpose in life to help, encourage, and inspire people to overcome the bondage of their past to live richer and more fulfilling lives.

I, like many people, spent too many years trying to live in reverse. People self-sabotage by attempting to reverse the pain of childhood, past mistakes or their ‘lot’ in life. My experience of a career correction has imbued me with the confidence to look forward and face the unknown with courage.

“Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things or more money in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are then do what you need to do in order to have what you want. ” ~ Margaret Young

In addition to this, we must remember to press ahead or risk "staring so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open." ~ Alexander Graham Bell

Related articles

• Breaks and hard work reverse fortunes for Vero Beach man once jobless, homeless (tcpalm.com)

• Guide To Giving To the Homeless (christianlifehacker.wordpress.com)

• Ben Stein: Unemployed People are Lazy, Unpleasant and Unable to Add and Subtract (uspoverty.change.org)