When You’ve Suffered A Loss

Recently, I suffered
a financial loss.

I can recover from it.

But my immediate reaction
was to hoard,
to not spend my money
or my time or my skills
on anything or anyone.

That’s human nature.
We’re trying to stop
the losses.

But it is the exact opposite
of what we should do.
Because it makes us
feel stingy
and poor
and that isn’t conducive
to becoming successful.

Instead, I allocated an afternoon
and I picked up garbage
in my neighborhood.
As I filled bags,
I felt generous,
giving,
wealthy.

And then I went back
to working on my business.

If you suffer a loss,
yes, grieve that loss
but also give a little to the world,
whether that’s a dollar
to provide one meal via the food bank
or your skills at graphic design.

You’re rich.
Remind yourself of that.