Beware of Big Daddy

Are you mad at banks, insurance companies, and other large corporations?  If you aren’t, you should be.  I’m appalled at how my patients and friends are suffering now financially at the hands of big business and big government.

For a long time, many of us have believed that we’d be taken care of by large corporations or government entitlement programs.  It’s a natural, human desire to want to believe in something bigger than ourselves.  It’s been a mistake, though, for us to identify the “something bigger” as business and government entities, and then to place our dependence on them.

I’m going to ask you an uncomfortable question: Have you lived your life up to this point in reliance on a corporate or government “Big Daddy”?

Here’s the problem with that.  With this approach to life, you remain a child in significant ways, which is a loss and a mistake.  If this is where you find yourself, the only way to start to grow up is to look at where you are now realistically, and realize: 1) you’re not entitled to anything, none of us are; and 2) you’ve got to start being the person you were meant to be as an individual.

I know I’m using strong language and my message may be hard to hear.  But as long as we continue to put ourselves in the position of believing fantasies and myths – that big business and big government will take care of us and take our best interests to heart – we’ll never realize our full potential as human beings.

It’s time to step outside the box, time to see things in a new way.  Keep in mind that there are two sides to every coin.  On the one side, we think big business and big government will take care of us.  They’re powerful and we’ll find our security with them.

This is a myth.  We’ve all been fed a myth.

Now it’s time to come to grips with the other side of the coin, that it’s not all your fault if you’re in trouble financially.  The “benevolent” powers that be are turning out to be not so benevolent.  In some ways they are acting like our enemies.

Many of them want to put the blame solely on us.  They’re saying we’ve been irresponsible.  They’re saying that we made terrible mistakes and should have known better.  They aren’t taking responsibility for their part in our country’s financial meltdown.  They’re just coming after us for money.  They don’t care that they’re responsible for creating a lot of the myth I’m talking about.

They’ve made a lot of money, billions of dollars, off of us.  They have the high-rise buildings, the bonuses, the perks.  We’ve got to look at that and start to recognize, “They’re not my best friend.  They’re not my father, who’s going to watch over me.”  All they seem to care about now is themselves and their bottom line – income and profit.

Stop depending on big business, big government, Big Daddy.  Start standing on your own two feet.

What we need to think about now is ourselves and our fellow man.  We need to live with more compassion, caring, and understanding in a time when that’s very difficult to do, when we’re all really stressed.  We need to be genuine, do what we can to help each other and be there for each other.

You can do something to help someone with their business problems, or their family troubles.  If you’re doing a little bit better than them or not in quite as bad shape – help them.  Let them know you care.  Don’t worry if they feel embarrassed or ashamed about their situation.  Reassure them that they’re just human.

None of us is perfect.  We’ve got to stand by each other.  Let the people around you know that it doesn’t matter what the rest of the world thinks, what corporations or bill collectors or banks think.  We need to stand strong with each other and let our brothers and sisters in life know, “I’m with you.”

Tell them, “Whatever you need, you’ve got it.  I’ll be here for you.  We’re not that different; we’re just alike.  You don’t need to worry about being yourself and what you’re going through.  With me, you’re fine.  You’re going to find caring and love and understanding with me, not condemnation.  You have nothing to be ashamed about; where you are is part of the human condition.  I’m right here with you and I’ll stay with you.  You can count on me.”

It’s time.  No more Big Daddys in your life.  Time for real, genuine, adult life – free from the myth that you’ll find security in big corporations, but connected to the people who need you.  Take up this challenge, make this change, and you’ll never regret it.