I realize we live in precarious and unsteady times, but we should stop and remember how lucky we all are and how there is always someone worse off than you. No matter how down and out you are, you still have some skills and compassion to share with others. I hope that we all take this chance to effect a change that will benefit more people. And along the way, you will find that you have actually received more than you gave. I promise you that.

One way to give back to the community, that also does not take a lot of time commitment is to volunteer as a tax preparer for the United Way Free Tax Campaign. I did that in January of this year. My volunteers and I, in our little site that was opened only 2 nights a week, helped finish about 600 returns by April 15. We met a lot of people, returned hundreds of thousands of dollars in refunds, did our fair share of cursing the IRS, but we also had fun and a great sense of fulfillment.