Every single year, just before the new year, I sit down and think over the events of the previous year. What happened in my life? What was good, what was bad? The purpose is not to focus on anything in particular, but rather to determine what areas of my life need to be reinforced, handled or addressed.
Thus, around the end of 2006, I looked over the events of 2005. My life was shaping up and I was moving in a good, positive, strong direction. I liked the trends that I saw - I was getting out of debt, I was advancing spiritually, my health was looking great and I felt good overall. In addition, I was making many new friends and enjoying getting out into the world and exploring a bit.
As I lengthened my gaze to the rest of the world, things looked less rosy. Yes, I was doing exceptionally well, and even my friends and neighbors were making gains in life, but things seemed to be decaying in society. The further out I moved my gaze, the more prevalent the decay.
My city, Los Angeles, had issues. That much was obvious. Just that day, I walked past a dozen homeless people on the way to the store, all begging for handouts, and all in a hopeless state. Nothing could be done about that, surely?
The newspaper was full of reports of a new education bill, currently being debated in the state legislature. The solution on everyone's mind seemed to be "pour money on it". Billions and billions of dollars were being pushed into the schools, yet California had such a horrible education system that there was talk of eliminating the exit exams because the students couldn't pass them! Obviously, that problem was too big to confront!
During the year, I watched at the situation in Iraq deteriorated beyond belief. Not only were Americans dying, but Muslims were killing Muslims, children and innocents were dying by the thousand, and a once proud country was falling into chaos and anarchy. Surely I couldn't do anything about this?
Hurricanes, tornadoes, global warming, floods and dozens of other disasters affected millions of people all over the planet. These were not just the huge disasters like Katrina, but smaller ones such as mudslides which simply washed away a house or two. I was able to help my sister-in-law after Katrina, but what can a single person do when faced by the wrath of the planet itself?
As I looked back through 2005 I felt the helplessness of it all well up in me. What could I possibly do to help?
The answer came almost immediately. I could give to the IAS (International Association of Scientologists). While there are many thousands of other organizations that give comfort and aid in these situations, the IAS is the only group which can not only help, but can actually work, using the technology provided by L Ron Hubbard, to permanently resolve the ills of humanity.
It was so simple that I couldn't see the answer until that point in time. By aiding my fellow Scientologists with my donations, I could help in more ways than can be imagined.
Thus, in December of 2005, I decided to plan on upgrading my IAS membership from Lifetime to Crusader. This allows me to give directly to the one organization which can help my friends and family, my city, my state, my country and my planet.
And now, at the end of 2006, I have completed that goal. I have acheived the level of Crusader. If I had known how good this would feel, to be actually able to provide help in a way that actually does help, I would have done so long ago.
