What is it about human beings that causes some to want to "make a difference" and others to seemingly be numb to the opportunities to make a difference which surrounds them? At the beginning, let's consider that all creatures are connected and part of the same Universal Energy or Spirit. Hopefully this makes intuitive, if not outright sense to you. Within this unlimited field of energy, the suffering of one has a real, though subtle, impact on all other beings.

However, our societies have become so materialistic and self-oriented that this may seem like a very esoteric and abstract concept. When one person suffers, or even dies, it does not seem to affect you or materially deprive you, unless you know them or you are related to them personally. So could there be any connection at all?

Let’s use the example of a neighborhood within a community or village. In this neighborhood, pretend you have an individual home you treasure and attend to constantly. Both your home and its grounds are immaculately cared for and beautiful. However, there has been an outbreak of graffiti and broken windows on the exterior of those other homes in your neighborhood. You have watched this decay evolve over a period of time and wished it was not this way. You've even noticed this same decay is starting to show up throughout your entire community. But, you kept thinking to yourself, “It’s not my place to say or do anything about this; and, after all, what can one person do?” So you did nothing.

Eventually, you feel this is not the neighborhood or community where you want to live for the rest of your life. So you decide you will sell your beautiful home. You contact a realtor who tells you that you must get your immaculate home appraised to determine its value and what the sales listing price should be.

You can guess what happens next, right? Yes, the appraiser is very complimentary about your home. Then the appraiser informs you that since the value of your home is based on the comparable values of the homes in your neighborhood, your home will not bring much of a price at all, despite all of the attention you have paid to it.

In the world of relationships, we all live in a global community that is divided into neighborhoods. You or I represent individual homes in our global community. This is an analogy of what happens when one’s total focus is only on themselves without recognizing the consequence of disregarding the surrounding neighborhoods of our Human Family.  Therefore, it is important to understand the relationship we have with the rest of our global community.

There is another motivation which drives many of us toward making a difference. I like to call it spiritual affluence. The word spirit has many definitions. However, in the context of its use here, it could be defined as a life principle. The word affluence has its root as a French phrase, "aux flux de", which means "to flow". So, when we put these two together, spiritual affluence literally means the flow of a life principle.

Fortunately, in America, and in most developed nations, the majority of us are taught from a very young age, making a difference does matter. While we may have never had it defined as spiritual affluence, we certainly know what it feels like when we reach out and make a difference for others. That feeling is priceless and the really good news is that the spiritual affluence or "flow" goes both ways. Whatever you put out will come back, often in multiples.

So, you can increase your spiritual affluence by creating your own awareness as to how you want to make a difference for others each and every day. It just may be the best way you can express your own humanity.

Dave McSpadden is a forward thinking researcher, author, professional speaker, seminar leader and mastermind coach whose professional services center around helping active baby boomers achieve peak performance at every age. Dave is dedicated to teaching baby boomers to use their God-given gift of the power of choice to develop the critical areas of their spiritual balance, mental fitness and brain function, physical fitness, vital health, emotional well being, relationships, financial independence and their decision making skills.