I took a moment to step back this last week to re-examine the Balanced Life and what it was here for. I designed this website as a way to help people. What I realized was that I was a afraid to share some hard truths along the way.

Honesty isn’t always accepted with wild enthusiasm. We all say that we want people to be honest but what we mean is we want honesty to a point.

I’ve decided that the only way this site will serve the people I created it for was if I was honest.

So, here I start. I realize some of what I’ll say will be contraversial, but I hope everything I say will make you think.

First, THIS is completely out of balance!! [Follow link to story in the Washington Post]. For those of you who don’t want to go to it, the story is about a local councilwoman who is being overrun with requests for help.

The title of the story is, “A Hundred Anxious Days: In a South Carolina Town Where the Downturn Has Deepened Since the Inauguration, Two Obama Supporters Have Struggled, Going From ‘Fired Up’ to Tired Out”

I have a degree in Politcal Science and have followed Politics closely since I was a sophmore in High School. It fascinates me. One thing I learned in college was that many constituents contact their congressmen/women with problems.

Since WHEN is Government the solution to our every ill?

I hope that with this website people will begin to learn the JOY and FREEDOM inherent in self-sufficiency, self-denial and self worth. I know what it feels like to go hat-in-hand to the government. When my husband was diagnosed with cancer he was our sole income earner. We had four young children. We received food stamps but were told we could not have any other aid. That lasted a few months and then he was back to work, and we were on our own again.

I understand what so many thousands of people are facing right now. We were 8 days from foreclosure. We were missing meals, my husband more than anyone else. Despite that I’m glad we were not given more aid. It forced us to learn how to function without the government asking us to to provide documents if our income went up $10. The system is designed to keep people from getting out.

I want to help you build up your reserve and get in balance. It is a hard road but one worth walking. You don’t have to answer to bureaucratic red tape. So, right now, try to find one problem that you can address without looking to outside help. If you do need outside help, see how you can work together with your neighbors and individuals in your community to help each other. During World War II people had “Victory Gardens”.  My grandparents’ generation knew what it was to be a good neighbor because people still helped each other.

In our increasingly fast moving society we’ve lost a sense of community. Why not take the initiative. If you are really good at making bread and another neighbor is great at growing beans why not swap services? I’m a writer and I’d gladly edit someone’s resume if they’d watch my kids for a couple of hours so I can work.

Each of us has gift, talents and interests. Charging money gives the perception of increased value, any maybe some things are worth more, but if we will take the time to try to USE our abilities to help each other…We can start to get in balance.

Stop running to the government for help. Who cares if your taxes paid for it. The only way things will change is if we start changing ourselves.

All this talk about bailouts, subsidies, shovel-ready projects and unemployment projects are meaningless if you’re hungry. The government wasn’t put there to insure you got everything you want. It was not there to make sure I get everything I want.  It is time for us to start to pursue the life we want in earnest.

I’ve started by planting my garden and reading books on business. What are you doing?

Tiffany Colter is a passionate freelance writer whose credits include Today’s Christian, Charisma Magazine, Toledo Business Journal, and the Afictionado E-zine. Tenacious in her approach not only to create a great story, but also to mentor other writers, Tiffany can always be found in the presence of a book or laptop. A former world traveler who is fluent in three languages, she strives to reach those who are hurting around her.     She enjoys helping others build a strong business and writes a daily marketing blog for writers called the Writing Career Coach and a common-sense money management site, TheBalancedLife.com. Tiffany lives outside Toledo, OH with her husband, a recent cancer survivor, and their four girls.