When you don’t have the means to provide for yourself or your family, it’s no longer a man’s world.
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Henry Ford once said,
“Wealth, like happiness, is never attained when sought after directly. It comes as a by-product of providing a useful service.”
In today’s world, it has become common to think one is most wealthy when they have everything. By the same token, it’s common to assume the one who offers their services is also the one who provides or replenishes when someone else is in need. Society has shown that it’s a man’s duty and privilege to provide, but it’s become a shared responsibility between men, women and even children.
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As Henry Ford’s imply, however, “a useful service” can be a by-product of something as simple as kindness or generosity. In fact, the very act of providing something for someone else–regardless of what it is you provide, or whom you offer it to–can often be the greatest useful service of all.
With that said, it seems as if we, as a society and as individuals, become stronger when we experience loss to some degree. We become stronger when we’re lacking something in our lives–when we don’t have what we need and have to use own moral compass to either find what we’re lacking or make do with whatever we have.
Either way, the mentality to provide and push through for ourselves or for our loved ones is still there–even if it might not be the brightest beacon of light in our greatest time of need.
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The only question is: What do you do when you don’t have what you need? How do you provide in a functional manner without letting physical or emotional pain overtake your life?
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Photo Credit: WarmSleepy/Flickr