Blog Action Day

I almost missed writing this week. Almost. Then the Universe intervened and I was actually given the topic when I found a website that listed TODAY as Blog Action Day, where people all over the world write about a singular topic. This year its POVERTY.

My first question is, when did they pick this topic?! If it’s like many things, it is planned out well in advance, which I chose to believe that it was just random fate that the world is struggling with this topic and it just so happens to be our collective blog topic around the world today. By the way, thanks to the Zen Habits blogger for reminding of my evening’s destiny. If not for you, I would have surely forgotten to post my blog entry today.

Well, the world is going broke. You should know that I am an American, so in my world, that is very much true. For a select few nations, they may be looking on and shaking their heads but for many many many people around the world, we are starting to take a look in the financial mirror. Good thing, too. I, for one, started this dark night of the soul financial journey well before everyone else, so I am actually doing a little better, personally. At least for the moment. I actually work in a financial services firm, so the daily state of the stock market is actually discussed NORMALLY and these days you just can’t get away from it, so I have decided to plunge in headfirst and check it out. Take this opportunity to learn a few things. Here is one article I felt really did a good job to portray the state of the economy (US). How to Rebuild America

I don’t have a functioning television in my home (choice, not poverty) so we keep up with the news via the internet. I shudder to think what the American television media is doing with this, but I have really NO exposure to it so I don’t know. What I DO know is that Iceland is in terrible shape. They had three banks and they all went bust. Thoughts of Great Depression are looming in many people’s heads…but you know what? The stock market is based on emotions, so people freaking out and the world press highlighting the problems isn’t really helping it out. Some countries shut down the markets. Not a bad plan. Let’s go a step further and lock everyone in their homes and throw their credit cards in a block of ice in the freezer. No wait! We can’t do that because then the global markets would just shut down and everything would come to a standstill! What to do? What to do?! It is a bit of a pickle. But, I can say for myself that this global situation has taught me two things: 1) I have it pretty dang good, and 2) if my whole financial world crashed down, I would probably survive. My life would just be a heckuva lot different than it is now. I take a moment of silence for all those people in the world right now who are struggling. Many of them for their lives and not much concerned for the state of Wall Street. For them, may all of us learn better to be grateful for our lives instead of looking to what we cannot buy.