Privilege is a Blessing

26 Jul Privilege is a Blessing

Privilege is a blessing. Yet we may (if we are paying attention) feel blessed by abundance, and punished by privilege: ” Being born with a silver spoon in your mouth” like this one is not usually a compliment. Here are some things to consider, and perhaps to change. Image: purplesteph.

If privilege is a blessing, why doesn’t it feel like one?

In a recent post, I felt blessed looking into my jar of trail mix. And privileged.  And then blessed.

Privilege is a Blessing

Lately we learn that privilege is a curse, something illegitimate we have that we should give back. But we can’t return privilege even if we wanted to. We can’t even usually give it up; people who try end up harming themselves, or lying to themselves, or both.

Blessings are Abundance

Privilege is a blessing. Blessings are part of our abundance.We don’t deserve them! That’s why I call them “inherited wealth.”

Notice that “deserving” is actually not a real thing: we don’t deserve anything if you mean “we earned it.” There’s no straight line between what we have and what we earned. Try this exploration if you don’t believe me.

We deserve by being born. For example, we deserve our basic needs to be met–in a way that doesn’t destroy the natural world.

Is Privilege Abundance?

The short answer is yes. Privilege is part of our abundance. Yet privilege is a blessing we may feel punished for. Why is this?

We Don’t Earn Abundance

Like abundance, like blessings, privilege is unearned. We get into trouble when we act like we deserve or earned our blessings, abundance, and privilege. It’s not just that we forget to feel grateful for them: we expect them. And we judge other people inferior or lacking when we have a privilege they don’t have. We feel superior to them because they lack our blessing. It’s absurd when you think of it that way.

Go For It!

This blog is all about peaceful, ethical money management and nonprofit fundraising. It’s fine with RAISING CLARITY for you to have the money you want to manifest your vision for your life and the Beloved Community without oppressing anyone or Nature. It’s possible to do things to attract or repel money;  most of them are attitudinal. This post shares both Sufi and Christian guidance on that.

But it’s not possible (short of already owning the money and controlling it that way) of controlling money. Nothing we do will make it come to us, or not come to another person. Yet this is what we mean by “earning,” and by “deserving.”

Thoughts?