Helping is NOT always good!

Hello there,

If you're like me you want to help every way you can.  Being a part of Together We Can Change The World would indicate you have a giving heart.  That's great!  Unless... GIVING would actually do more harm than good.  Huh?  Let me share a story with you that was written by one of our Someone Believes In You authors, Suess Karlsson.
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"What is this? I can't tell." Curious, and getting down on his knees on the sidewalk, Lane got a better look at it. His normal evening walk sometimes rewarded him with treasures from nature. He enjoyed his discoveries and always regarded his finds with great respect.

But what had he found? Recognizing it as an emperor moth's cocoon, Lane decided to keep it. He gently scooped the cocoon into his chest pocket and meandered home. Placing the cocoon into a clear container, Lane felt a small excitement travel through him. He surprised himself by anticipating being a witness to the moth's emergence from its cocoon.

A few days passed. Finally, a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to force its body through a tiny, tiny hole.

Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as the majestic moth was stuck.

Lane could watch no more. In kindness, he decided to help the moth.

With a small pair of scissors, he snipped off a bit of the cocoon and freed his emperor moth. Now the moth emerged easily. But something was wrong . . . very wrong. It had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. Lane continued to watch the moth because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand. He expected the moth to be able to support the body which would contract in time. Neither happened!

In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly.

Unfortunately, Lane realized too late that the restricting cocoon and the moth's struggle for freedom was a requirement for survival. The moth needed to struggle through the tiny opening. It was nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the moth into its wings so that it would be ready for flight. Its freedom and flight would only come after the struggle.

By depriving the moth of a struggle, he deprived the moth of health.

Wow! Come to think of it -- sometimes the same is true for humans.

The struggles in our lives give us strength. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. It is never easy to struggle and it is certainly never easy to watch someone else with their struggles. But think about it, if we never let children struggle with learning to walk, we would all be carrying around some mighty big kids! What if we never made any mistakes? Would we learn anything? If everything in life worked out the first time, how many inventions would have been missed?

Lane believed he was doing the right thing. And he is not at fault. We are all like that. We just want to help and make it better. I do that too. With my kids, my friends, even with myself... but sometimes I know I need to wait and let the struggle run its course... Let the fight create the strength. Out of love, I must allow nature to do its work.

I know it is not easy but I believe the outcome is worth the wait. I believe in my kids and friends and family... yeah, I believe in myself enough, that I will allow the obstacles to stand. I won't give up trying though, and I'll never quit encouraging others around me.

Will you do the same? Let's both learn from Lane and let life teach us. We will be strong and able if we can do that. Let's give every obstacle an opportunity to become our strength.

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I so love this story because it holds so much powerful truth.  I think the biggest challenge is having the wisdom to know when people need help, and when they need to struggle to find their strength.  I would love to hear any stories you may have about times when you needed that struggle, or when you knew someone else needed that struggle - and what the results were.  Nothing is more powerful than people's stories... I would love to know yours!

If you, or someone you love, is in the midst of a struggle now - take heart from the lesson of the Emperor Moth.

Have a wonderful day!

Ginny Dye

Things Are Getting Clearer

Years ago I was ghostwriting a book about the Chincoteague Ponies on Chincoteague Island and went out to spend 2 weeks on the island.  One early morning I hiked a couple miles or so down the beach to get away from the crowds and hunkered down on a log to wait for a very special "happening" that only happened once a year. 

The beach was shrouded in fog but the sun, as it rose above the horizon, cast sparkling lights across the emerald waves topped with frothy whiteness.  I basked in the beauty, while also peering into the fog that was beginning to be swallowed by the sun's rays.  The fog muted any sounds but the nearby seagulls but I knew it would happen any minute. 

As I peered down the beach I think I felt it before I actually saw it... The fog seemed to get darker, and then a little darker, and then... out popped the first head of a pony!  Within moments the beach was alive with 100+ wild Chincoteague Ponies, encased in a "Living Corral" of 30 or so Chincoteague cowboys who were riding in a rectangular formation. 

Waves were crashing.  Mamma ponies were calling to the 60 or so foals prancing through the herd - dashing back and forth down the beach within the confines of their corral.  The men were yelling out and the clink of bridles and saddles formed an amazing musical backdrop.  Wow!  I just sat back on my log and drank in the magic of what I was seeing.

The cowboys (who by the end of the week would all become friends) tipped their hats at me and smiled as they surged by.  They told me later they'd never have anyone come so far down the beach to usher them in.

12 years later, the image of the first pony head popping from the fog has never lost it's magic.  It's close to how I feel right now.  There has been so much "fog" during the last month, and especially during the last week of closing down My Power Mall.  Yet I've learned that if I watch hard enough that I will understand and gain clarity from even the foggiest experiences. 

In the last couple days I have watched a lot of "pony heads" come popping out of the fog. :)  I realize that while My Power Mall had the potential to be great for so many people, it just wasn't meant to continue.  I realize that the management of My Power Mall had taken us from our real purpose - the only reason we created MPM 3 years ago - Together We Can Change The World.  While TWCCTW was always my main driving passion, the reality of 80-90 hour weeks running MPM severely impacted what we could do and too many people had their main focus on making money - not on making a difference.

While I so appreciate the need to make money, and we so wanted to help people with that, it is obviously not ours to do or My Power Mall would have survived.  As each day passes I am finding more peace in that reality. So many exciting things are happening right now and I'm seeing things so much more clearly.  I will share it all with you in the days to come.

However you feel about My Power Mall and the circumstances of your own life, I encourage you to do two things.  Go the extra mile (walk further down the beach) to gain the clarity that you want.  And, two, peer hard into the fog.  If you stay focused and watch as hard as you can, you WILL gain clarity and you will get your answers. 

No matter how hard things may seem, or how confusing they may be, there is good that can come from every single thing.  I'm not saying everything that happens is good - I'm just saying good can come from every single thing.  Sometimes the fog is a little thicker and it may take longer before the "pony heads" come popping out but I am convinced they are hiding in every situation you face.

Thank you for joining me on this journey of life and thank you for wanting to make a difference.  My challenge to you today is to do ONE THING to make a difference in someone's life.  It doesn't have to be big.  Hundreds, then thousands, and then Millions of us each doing one small thing will have a massive impact on the world. 

My vision for that is stronger than ever!!

Transitions take time...

People keep asking me what comes next.  There are times in life when you simply have to keep your focus on NOW - doing what is before you with as much excellence and integrity as you can - deliberately funneling all your energy and focus into the present.  This is one of those times. 

We are in the process of closing down some websites and moving others.  None of it is an easy process.  All of the Together We Can Change The World sites will be out of operation for 1-3 weeks.  The domains still work and people can still access them but until everything has been moved they won't be fully operational.  It's not just as simple as moving a website from one Server to the next.  Because all of them were "Replicating websites" for all our members, the coding has to all be changed before we can fully use them.  It will all get done; it will just take a little while. :) 

I so appreciate all the letters that have been sent.  What stands out to me more than anything is that we still have so many people who are continuing to carry the TWCCTW vision and message.  This morning I was thinking about all the time we spent during the last 3 years of building and running My Power Mall.  There are some who probably think that time was wasted; I know better.  Nothing is ever wasted in your life.

What you, or others, may consider failure is really just a part of the journey you are on.  Each experience provides lessons and opportunities.  What may not make sense right now will make sense in the future as you look back with much greater clarity than you can possibly have in the midst of the situation. 

I have no regrets about the last 3 years.  The lessons learned, the relationships built, and the wonderful things accomplished will always overshadow any frustrations or disappointments.

Thousands of Non-Profits that received funding, changing the lives of 20 Ugandan AIDS orphans (the SIFA Choir), empowering thousands to make a difference with their lives, and helping so many members through tough times.

I also know My Power Mall was just a step on a long journey.  So much good is still to come from the last 3 years.  I'm glad you are here for me to share it with.  I'm glad you're here to still be part of it.  There are so many exciting times ahead!

But for now, I'm returning to the Present.  I've made a personal commitment to respond to each email that has been sent to me.  I've still got 100+ to go (even after 2 days of non-stop emailing) so I'm going to get back to it.  PEOPLE are always the most important aspect of whatever you are doing.  I don't intend to ever forget that!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ginny

Our Purpose Hasn't Changed

It's only been 4 days since we closed the doors on My Power Mall.  I am a BIG believer in making lemonade - no matter how sour the lemons may be.  As this week has rolled by there has been enough sugar pouring in to make all the lemonade anyone could want. 

There was one message that came through Loud & Clear - Together We Can Change The World is still alive and perhaps better than ever.  Why?  Because the 80+ hours a week that I worked, and the 50+ hours a week that most of the rest of our Team worked to keep everything going can now be turned back to our real purpose - Together We Can Change The World. 

The entire Management Team and all of the other Founding Members (for a total of 35 people) have reconfirmed our commitment to each other and to the purpose that set most of us on this path 8 years ago.  We are going to continue to use our time and talents to make a difference in the world.  We want to empower people, give them all the resources they need, and join hands with them to spread a tidal wave of goodness throughout our planet!

We welcome EVERYONE to join us.   As I watch the world spin around me I see so much division and separation. People are separated by beliefs, by politics, by race, by religion… This separation and division are the cause of most of the problems in our world today. People can’t work together to solve problems because they are too busy focusing on how they are different. It makes me very sad and I am determined that will not be a reality within the Together We Can Change The World Association.
So who is TWCCTW for? It’s for EVERYONE! Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, New Age, Atheist, Agnostic… Black, White, Indian, Asian, Hispanic… Democratic, Republican, Independent, or the myriad of other political positions in the world… heterosexual or homosexual…single, married or divorced…

We simply want to mobilize and empower people to live their best lives and get to the end of each day knowing they matter - and that they made a difference in someone's life.

I am going to share ideas and stories with you on a regular basis.  I am going to direct you to all our resources.  I'm going to encourage you to become involved in Together We Can Change The World Day - the first Saturday of every month.  I hope we all become part of a huge FAMILY that is there to support and care for each other.

If you're new to the Blogging world and don't know how to set up and use RSS feeds so that you get notification every time this Blog is updated, I invite you to also join the Together We Can Change The World Association group on Facebook.  If you're already a member of Facebook just put it in the Search Box and join the group.  We'll send out a notification everytime the Blog is Updated.

If you're not already a member of Facebook, it's so easy to join!  Just go to http://www.facebook.com/ and join for Free.  Once you have joined you can become a  member of the Together We Can Change The World Association and stay linked in with all the people who have a passion to make a difference. 

I look forward to being part of your world!

Ginny Dye