“Giving is the shortest distance to becoming most alive.” – Steve G.
This week’s column highlights a short audio file and an essay from the “This I Believe” series (you can listen or read using the links below) by author Isabel Allende. It focuses on two key Upside to the Downturn principles: building resilience and making a difference in the lives of others.
Allende’s busy life was forever changed when her adult daughter Paula became seriously ill in the early 1990s and did not recover from a coma. The author shares the insights and life lessons that became clear to her through the journey of taking care of Paula during her illness, grieving her death, and adjusting to life without her.
Her personal message of discovering the essence of love and the purpose of giving is powerful.
“In giving, I connect with others.”
– Isabel Allende
Click Here to Listen to “In Giving I Connect with Others” by Isabel Allende
Consider the upside:
Take some time this week to look back on challenging times in your own life, whether these challenges were physical, emotional, financial, or in a relationship with someone else.
• What did you learn about yourself?
• What do you do better or differently as a result?
Steve Goldberg is the co-author of Finding the Upside: Practical Wisdom for Challenging Times. You can read more about and purchase the book at: www.findingtheupside.org
Previously published on Upsidematters.org, May 24, 2009
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