March Against Excess: Day #6

Wow. Just wow. The last week has proven to be just nutty. What started as my own personal conviction has taken a turn for crazy and has left me in tears on more than one occasion. I am incredibly humbled, amazed and inspired by the people around me. In the last 7 days this challenge seems to have snowballed and taken on a life of its own.

I am blown away by how many of you have shared this idea with others, as well as jumped in with the desire to give. I am moved beyond words. I feel like a wide-eyed kid, in complete awe by the support and partnership that has been offered. It’s absolutely made this experience not only more meaningful, but way more fun.

As I mentioned in my last post I decided to tweak the project a bit so that I am consistently giving things away this month, not waiting until the end to make one big donation. They say it takes 30 days to form a habit, I want giving to be a habit. It’s been hard…really hard at times, in the last few days I have really been made privy to how selfish I am – but it’s also been so dang amazing.

Yesterday I was able to pick out a pair of combat boots to give to the daughter of one of my residents who has been moved from house to house, raised in the foster care system. Today I passed along a jacket and pair of slippers to Mary, the woman that cleans my office every day and brings me leftover food from home that she makes to feed her (giant!) family. Monday night I met a woman named Viv that works at a local organization who was not only thrilled to hear I had household items to give, but she decided that she wanted to join the March Against Excess too!

I keep metaphorically pinching myself to remember that this is real. That people have the ability to amaze you with their goodness and grace. And that sometimes when you open your hand what you are given in return is far, far greater than anything you could ever give.

Please, keep sharing! Don’t stop telling your stories of how you are Marching Against Excess and let’s all help heal one another with love and generosity.