Impact & Leadership

Doing The Next Right Thing For Those In Need

December 12, 2017

Hi! I'm Marie

You have gifts to share with the world and my job is to help you get them out there.

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The world is not changed by our opinions but it is changed by our love. @GlennonDoyle

When you watch the news or talk about current events, what do you feel in your heart? Do you feel fear? Sadness? Frustration? Helplessness? No matter what your political beliefs, no one can argue that the world is incredibly divided right now.

But what if there were a way that we can begin to repair that? What if we could come together and focus on a project that has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with service and love and taking care of one another?

I have no doubt that more of us coming together in collaboration to do good can begin to heal the world. Which is why I’m inviting you to join me for another Love Flash Mob, just like what we did in 2016 for Mother’s Day.

If you are an American paying attention or you’re simply a human who cares about other humans, then you’re probably familiar with the opioid crisis. It’s a story that’s understandably been dominating headlines this year. The statistics are staggering:

In 2016, more than 64,000 people died of drug overdoses in America — that’s a higher death toll than guns, car crashes, and HIV/AIDS ever killed in one year in the US, and a higher death toll than all US military casualties in the Vietnam and Iraq wars combined.[source]

The more I began to investigate this issue, the more I began to see the deep stigma and judgment that surrounds a crisis of this nature. Many of us find it easy to turn our heads or close our hearts because we believe that people who use drugs are weak. That they’re suffering the consequences of their own poor choices.

But as we’re beginning to understand, it’s easier to get high in this country than it is to get help.  As my friend Karen Salmonson has said, “One of the ugliest things in the world is a human without compassion.”

Instead of arguing about who’s at fault — or worse, burying our heads in the sand — what if there were a third option? What if we could dive in and simply help? Watch my dear friend Glennon Doyle and I talk about this opioid crisis, our new Compassion Collective campaign, why it matters and what you can do to help.

With my whole heart, I hope you’ll join us for this Together Rising December Love Flash Mob. 100% of what you give goes straight to people in need. This year, we have two specific goals to support the opioid crisis:

1. Buy a home in Rochester, NH so pregnant and parenting women have a transitional place to stay in after finishing their recovery at Hope on Haven Hill. While HHH has been an incredible lifeline, these women need somewhere safe to stay after they graduate from the intensive care program. Let’s do everything in our power to make sure they and their children don’t end up back on the street. This is about helping to break the cycle of poverty and addiction.

2. Help cover the costs at Martha’s Place, a long-term home for women recovering from drug addiction. Let’s get the maximum number of women pursuing their recovery and futures at this sacred space — nicknamed “Resurrection Intersection” —in one of the most troubled parts of Baltimore.

Two projects, two very different communities — one singular goal of making life a little bit better for women and children who have been taken down by addiction. These women desperately want help, but have so far been unable to find anyone, or anywhere, to turn to.

We can show up with our hearts, our compassion and do the next right thing for them.

Slowly, one “next thing” at a time, we can heal the pain and suffering in our world.  Are you willing to get involved in a project that has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with service and love and taking care of each other, before we decide whether someone is “worth it?”

I know many of you aren’t in the United States, but before you dismiss this as “an American problem,” know that the opioid crisis is starting to bleed into Canada, too. Sadly, there’s a good chance it will extend across the globe as pharmaceutical companies aspire to sell their drugs internationally.

Here’s What You Can Do — Right Now

If helping these women is something that moves you, please join us by taking one or both of these steps.

1. SHARE WHAT YOU CAN.

Visit Together Rising and contribute $5, $10, $15 or $25 dollars (which is the max). Know that 100% of what you give will go directly to this campaign.

2. USE YOUR VOICE.

Spread the word in whatever way feels best to you. Whether over your kitchen table, a cup of coffee, via text, email or on social media, please invite your friends and family to join in.

Here are a few tweets you can use, or have fun by writing your own:

“The world is not changed by our opinions but it is changed by our love.” Join me and @MarieForleo @GlennonDoyle and more for this #LoveFlashMob #TogetherRising #CompassionCollective pls RT

Grace and love don’t make a checklist before deciding who’s worthy. Join me and @MarieForleo @GlennonDoyle for this #LoveFlashMob #opioidcrisis pls RT

Slowly, one “next thing” at a time, we can heal the pain and suffering in our world. Join me and @MarieForleo @GlennonDoyle for this #LoveFlashMob #opioidcrisis pls RT

Program note: I’m honored and grateful to share this opportunity with you as a proud member of Together Rising’s Compassion Collective, along with my friends Glennon Doyle, Liz Gilbert, Cheryl Strayed, Brené Brown, Abby Wambach and even more great folks.

If you have further, specific questions that aren’t answered here — please email the team at Together Rising directly at contact @ togetherrising.org. They are the extremely hardworking, dedicated angels who are tireless in their dedication to research and vet the organizations we’re supporting, as well as distributing the funds raised. As I share in the video…

Naturally, I’d love you to join us for this holiday Love Flash Mob. But if — for whatever reason — this issue or campaign doesn’t inspire your heart, use this as a catalyst to find something that does.

Look around your community and find an issue that needs more support. Then act. Instead of us saying, “Oh, that’s so heartbreaking — someone should do something,” let’s try this. Let’s say, “That’s so heartbreaking. What can I do to help?”

In the comments below, I’d love to know:

What’s your next right thing?

If you’re joining us in this Love Flash Mob, leave a comment below and tell us you’re in. Also, if this inspires you to find somewhere to contribute something — your voice, your time, your resources — I’d love to hear about that too.

Remember, share as much detail as possible in your reply. Thousands of incredible souls come here each week for insight and inspiration, and your support of this campaign may help inspire someone else to act, too.

Important: share your thoughts and ideas directly in the comments. Links to other posts, videos, etc. will be removed.

As Glennon says so beautifully in our interview: “Heartbreak is your clue into what’s next.”

Thank you for sharing with your heart, mind and voice to be a force for good in this world. Thank you for showing up here each week and helping me learn more, grow more and do more.

With so much love,

XO

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