It all
began on a crisp autumn evening long ago when I was a rebellious, headstrong,
and independent girl of 16...
Copyright
© 2002 by Dianne Ruth, Ph.D. (USA)
The burly lady standing in line behind me in the supermarket looked so surprised.
I had just handed her a quarter that I had found on the floor. I explained,
"I am giving you this quarter because I have so much good luck in my life;
I feel it's only right that I share it with others." I also added, "And,
whenever you can, you might want to do something to help someone else."
Whenever
I find loose money, I pass it on to the person nearest me. If no one is
around, I put it in a piggy bank at home-or I did until it became jammed
full-now I use a small box. What I didn't tell the lady was that by giving
her that quarter, I was still trying to pay back a $20
loan from the early 1950s.
It all
began on a crisp autumn evening. The charcoal sky was laced with watery
blue streaks hugging the horizon. I was in the auto manufacturing city of
Flint, Michigan where faint metallic factory smells hung stubbornly in the
air. It was back during the days when coffee was still a nickel and a loaf
of bread cost a quarter. I was a rebellious, headstrong, and independent
girl of 16.
Due
to poor judgment-I had trusted someone I had thought to be a friend-I found
myself abandoned, alone and broke in a town 50 miles away. My intention
had been to get away from a domineering, emotionally abusive and controlling
mother by leaving home. I wanted to make a life of my own. I had not expected
to be stranded in the process.
I was
feeling angry, worried, frightened and embarrassed. Clutching a small worn
suitcase, and shivering in my thin summer clothing, I quickened my pace
into a nearby service station to get warm. Inside was a casually dressed,
older gentleman waiting for his car to be fixed.
We
struck up a conversation. Finding him sympathetic and a good listener, I
shamefully stammered out my plight. Reaching into his pocket, he fished
out a twenty dollar bill which he put
in my hand. Following my initial astonishment, I became wary of his generosity.
He hastened to reassure me by pointing out, "The only strings attached are
that for the rest of your life, anytime you are in a position to, you are
to help someone else."
With
that twenty dollars, I was able to move into a charming rooming house for
five dollars a week. My new landlady sent me to a small restaurant next
door where I got work as a short order cook and backup waitress. The job
included meals, five dollars a day and tips. I was rich and on my own!
I never
did return home to live. Sadly, it wasn't until my early 30s, shortly before
my mother died, that we found peace with each other in spite of our stormy
relationship. I was finally beginning to learn the lesson of forgiveness
and responsibility.
Meantime,
I wandered about the country for the next couple of years doing many kinds
of odd jobs. Finally, I settled into a career in the graphics communication
industry where I could capitalize on my artistic talent. About twenty years
later, after hitting job burnout, I became a massage therapist so I could
return to school and become a psychologist.
That
was followed by evolving into my current career as a Creativity and Abundance
Life Coach. Because most of my clients have been able to pay my fee in full,
I have been able to put aside part of my profits and use them to subsidize
other less financially fortunate people who need my services. I call this
my "Robin Hood" approach. It seems as if I have come full circle. By following
the old adage of what goes around comes around, I am reaping benefits of
amazing wealth.
That twenty dollar gift happened many years
ago, and true to my word, whenever I can, I give help to the poor; I have
volunteered thousands of hours to charity, and have setup a scholarship
fund in each of my successive businesses to help others in need.
One
day back in the early 1970s while I was living in Los Angeles, I managed
a printing company. A dirty, ragged, homeless man came to the back door
looking for handouts. I offered to give him money if he wanted to clean
up the area in the alley behind the store.
After
that he came back every week like clockwork; each time he showed up, his
appearance started improving. What I finally realized was that he was getting
more than money-he was getting back his self-esteem.
Throughout
the 1970s and 1980s I did volunteer work for the American Red Cross. I spent
many hours educating the community in emergency first aid and disaster preparedness.
I also did case management work for the victims of disaster.
In 1980
while I was doing Red Cross case management for the victims of the San Bernardino
fires, I had a young woman, 30-something approach me. She was disheveled
and obviously in shock. We were working on folding tables in tents. I motioned
her to a folding chair by me.
She
told how a fire ball had struck the back of her home in the mountains causing
it to explode as she literally dove out a front window in terror. Brightening,
she went on to explain that she was one of the lucky ones, though, because
she had just found an apartment in town with huge walk-in closets for all
her clothes.
Suddenly
she crumpled, tears running down her face, as the impact of what she had
just said dawned on her. The realization that she didn't have any clothes
had finally hit her. The Red Cross did help her replace much of her clothing,
furniture and household goods, however, with vouchers for local stores.
Today,
I continue to offer my time to various helping organizations. Currently
I am considering becoming a volunteer coach and educator for the Denver
Safehouse outreach program for battered women who want to become self-employed.
Long
ago I was given the key to abundance and finally discovered how to unlock
the power of it in my own and other people's lives.
* * *
Dianne
Ruth, Ph.D. is a Creativity and Abundance Life Coach by phone or in office.
In addition she maintains a small private side practice as a Short-Term
Holistic Counselor in Denver, Colorado, USA.
E-mail: DrRuth@DynamicResources.net
Websites: www.DynamicResources.net
and www.TheHealingTree.net
This page
is reproduced here with the permission of Dianne Ruth.
Last
Updated:
March 19, 2007
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A PENNY: If you have a penny and I have a penny and we exchange pennies, you still have one cent and I still have one cent.
