How we can help people learn to fish even if we cannot

You know the conventional wisdom that says, "give a fish and you feed someone for a day, but teach them to fish and you feed them for a lifetime." The problem that I come across is that I am not much of a fisherman myself and I know little about how to teach people something they can take into the world and use to gain a living wage. 

I am not an economist and I do not understand the complex nature of macro/microeconomics. It seems rather difficult to teach people to fish, not because it is time consuming, but it is that I do not know how to fish myself; so to speak. I am totally dependent upon others for my livelihood and the generosity of the saints for my income and God for the vision of purpose. While I like to think that I am one who knows how to fish for my well being (that is to say I have a skill set that can be used in order to gain an income to purchase food), I am very much totally dependent upon others.  

I want to be able to teach people to fish, per say, but there are so many different callings in life for a vocation that it is very difficult to teach people a skill set that they do not have a passion for. It is apparent to me that everyone has some sort of internal entrepreneurial. Some drives are stronger than others, but all have this drive to do something, to create something, to be someone (so to speak).

While we all have this internal drive, it is apparent to me that not all people have the means to live into this drive; be it finances, life circumstances, education or something else, many people (like myself) are dependent upon others in order to live out our internal drives. Which is why I love KIVA.

Micro-finance has been around for a number of years and it is moving into the mainstream as it is beginning to see some success in the United States.  In case you are not aware of micro-finance and the work of KIVA, here is a simple diagram that explains the process of how you can help people live out their internal drives by overcoming the many of the obstacles in their life.

I want to invite you to join myself and others around the globe to help others by empowering them to live into their internal drives to create in the world. Become a micro-finance lender and observe the change you can help create. Watch how many people you can help learn to fish.  

Speaking to my life through A capella and The Office

Just a song by an A capella group at William and Mary's College a friend of the soloist sent this video to me which spoke to my spirit.

"The Original Works of Japan" speaks to my childhood.

Daft Punk A Capella speaks to my teen years.

The Office (waring it is a bit crass) which speaks to my 20's.

Quotes on Thankfulness

Gratitude... goes beyond the "mine" and "thine" and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy. 

 --Henri J. M. Nouwen

Resentment and gratitude cannot coexist, since resentment blocks the perception and experience of life as a gift. My resentment tells me that I don't receive what I deserve. It always manifests itself in envy.  --Henri J. M. Nouwen

Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint. I can choose to grateful when I am criticized, even when my heart still responds in bitterness. I can choose to speak about goodness and beauty, even when my inner eye still looks for someone to accuse or something to call ugly. 

 --Henri J. M. Nouwen

Being thankful is not telling God you appreciate the fact that your life is not in shambles. If that is the basis of your gratitude, you are on slippery ground. Every day of your life you face the possibility that a blessing in your life may be taken away. But blessings are only signs of God's love. The real blessing, of course, is the love itself. Whenever we get too attached to the sign, we lose our grasp on the God who gave it to us. Churches are filled with widows who can explain this to you. We are not ultimately grateful that we are still holding our blessings. We are grateful that we are held by God even when the blessings are slipping through our fingers.   --Craig Barnes

{The soul} must forget about {understanding}, and abandon itself into the arms of love, and His Majesty will teach it what to do next; almost its whole work is to realize its unworthiness to receive such great good and to occupy itself in thanksgiving.   --Teresa of Avila
 

You say, 'If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.' You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.  --Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

The optimist says, the cup is half full. The pessimist says, the cup is half empty. The child of God says; My cup runneth over. 
 --Anonymous 

The most important prayer in the world is just two words long: "Thank you"   --Meister Eckhart 

We prevent God from giving us the great spiritual gifts He has in store for us, because we do not give thanks for daily gifts. We think we dare not be satisfied with the small measure of spiritual knowledge, experience, and love that has been given to us, and that we must constantly be looking forward eagerly for the highest good. Then we deplore the fact that we lack the deep certainty, the strong faith, and the rich experience that God has given to others, and we consider this lament to be pious. We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts. How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things?   --Dietrich Bonhoeffer

It must be an odd feeling to be thankful to nobody in particular. Christians in public institutions often see this odd thing happening on Thanksgiving Day. Everyone in the institution seems to be thankful "in general." It's very strange. It's a little like being married in general.   --Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.