Several weeks ago I was part of a luncheon with 5 other women. it was a nice gathering that we try to do on a regular basis and it is a chance to get to know each other outside of our normal monthly meeting. All of these women are vibrant and extremely interesting women. They have all had pretty amazing careers in different fields and have made it a point to give back to their community in a variety of ways at this point in their lives. I always enjoy these get togethers because it allows me to see inside their lives and what they are doing currently.

At this particular gathering we all shared travel experiences and almost every single one of these women had some amazing travel stories. We had just gotten back from the Bahamas so I was able to chime in about our adventures as well and did. There were trips to Mexico, trips to Germany, Iceland and other fabulous places and as I left to go to Sharing House to drop off some items I felt that twinge.

Was it a twinge of guilt? I am not sure about that but perhaps it was more of a realization that this group of women and their far flung adventures was a far cry from what our neighbors at Sharing House experience every single day of their lives. Weeks later it is still niggling about in my mind. Which is why it is finding its way to this page today.

While my circumstances may be very different from those of our Sharing House neighbors, I do try to be cognizant that my life is not the normal life. It never has been. I like to think that I have been able to live an extraordinary life but that has nothing to do with having money or not having money. It is a mind set and a desire to live for more than just the day to day normalcy and to allow myself to be open to the possibilities of the extraordinary things around me.

Being able to travel and have adventures with Chris is something that I love. He and I have worked hard to build a life that allows us to be able to do some of the things that we love. One of those things is travel. So often I was able to travel with him as he worked and we always made the most of those trips. I think that this is the same for this group of women –they have all worked hard to be able to do some of the things that they love to do and they should be able to do that. I see what each of them does within the community to give of themselves and I am grateful that they are able to do that as well.

It’s so easy to look at others who may appear to have more than “we” have and think that are better off when in reality we have no idea, do we? Everyone I know works very hard and I am happy for them when they are able to do something that brings them joy. They deserve to be able to live their lives without feeling guilty about what others may think of their lives.

So today my question for my readers is this. Do you ever feel guilty that you are able to do something that maybe others you know are unable to do because of your ability to finance it or arrange it? How do you handle that feeling? Or are you proud of your accomplishments and feel no feelings of guilt ? There are absolutely no right or wrong answers here but it is definitely something that has been in the back of my mind so I would love to hear your thoughts.

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