Who are we? Who are you?

This is an excerpt from my blog: http://jamesdillingham.com

This just in: We've become a Tale of Two Cities; of two economies. One racing towards the top, the other towards the bottom. And unfortunately for both, they are succeeding.

We, as a county, are unified in the idea of Who We Are. We are the good guys. We're number one. We set the example that the rest of the world wants to copy. Right?

More and more, I'm beginning to doubt this. I think we now know who we WANT to be. We're not there now, and more troubling, we are strongly divided on how to get there.

I have my own strong opinions about this; but to be completely honest, I can't tell if I'm being influenced onto a path of thought that was carefully constructed for me by the media, or perhaps some unseen person behind a curtain.

Right now, we are holding the economy up as the issue du jour. We look at finances and immediately see "Have's" and "Have Not's". This perspective is dictating where we draw the battle lines.

Success has come to be defined by the size of one's bank account or the number of bedrooms you have in your house. And yet, once we get all of the wealth we could possibly have, we still want more.

There is something wrong with this. If wealth was truly the "finish line" why don't we feel like we've "arrived" once we get there?

I suggest that we are running in the wrong race; or better said, "We are running towards the wrong finish line."

We've lost our way as a country and the crumbling of our society is visible in every direction.

We all know this.

If I had to come up with one single truth, it would be that we are better off when we are there for each other.

Relationships, not paychecks, should be how we measure worth.

I think that we are all put on earth as much for ourselves as for each other. Every person out there represents an opportunity for us to become better people. If you don't believe me, try taking a bag of groceries to the local food bank and see how it makes you feel.

Everyone you see is part of our Life's Puzzle. Everyone has a role and none of us are outside of the game.

We all know this but we're afraid.

So we continue to swim against the current and not get anywhere.

Instead of trying to find out why, we push faster and faster down the same path that brought us to this point. The rich are getting richer faster. Even as they achieve greater wealth, they become more and more convinced that they don't have enough.

At the other end of the spectrum, the poor watch as their children join gangs and give up any hope of getting out of the ghetto. They are giving up.

This will continue, this chase to the top and the rush to the bottom, so long as money is the answer.

I think it's time we look for different answers.

Turn your focus from the economy. There are no true answers there, only pretend answers. Point your nose in the direction you want your life to go, and the world will follow. Focus on each other and you'll see that everything changes.

I can imagine a world where relationships, not paychecks are what we value the most. In that world, this would be the norm instead of the exception. And yet, I can see that the path there, from where we are now, is a narrow one - bracketed by fear.

Do we dare let go of the side of the pool when we are not absolutely certain that we know how to swim?

Sounds hopeless, I know. We are stuck in quicksand, sinking slowly. Our instincts tell us to struggle faster and we're surprised when it only makes us sink faster.

So stop struggling.

The good news is that you can change all of this in an instant - the amount of time it takes you to change your mind; to change your perspective.

Try this: Imagine a world where success is measured by how much you help another. Hold open a door. Park farther away from the mall so someone else can have the closer spot. Send a pizza to the local fire department. Go to the local elementary school and secretly pull weeds for an hour on the weekend. Let someone else help you.

Forget politics. Forget Occupy Wall Street. Forget everything decisive, everything that involves money. Focus on each other. Look at someone else and know they are you in another skin. They have the same fears and dreams. Help them. Help yourself.

Put a note on your desktop that says, "Reminder: Save the world today."

Save the world one note at a time; one blog post at a time.

It's way more fun than you might think.

Up, up and away...

Jim