Podcast Episode - Having Faith During The COVID-19 Crisis

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In this special Passover / Easter podcast, Suze talks about how faith can help us remain strong during these difficult times.

Podcast Transcript:

April 12, 2020, and let me begin the Women and Money podcast this week by wishing all of you a very, very happy Easter today, a happy Passover. And to really hope that all of us at this time, this really religious day that we're experiencing here, that we really reflect on the meaning of this day because somehow, I have this feeling that the true meaning of this day really holds the answer to all of us when it comes to what we are all going through right now. Do I think that this is probably one of the hardest times financially, emotionally, and spiritually that the United States, in our lifetime, that we've ever gone through? And the answer to that question is, oh, you bet I do. We are now confronted with every possible obstacle that could be coming our way from a financial obstacle to a health obstacle, to a lack of love or socialization obstacle. It doesn't have to be a lack of love, but many of us are perceiving it that way. We now feel isolated, we feel like we can't even be with those that are dying that we love. And we're facing an isolation fear, financially, emotionally, physically, in every possible way, that we've never experienced before. We're afraid to hug our kids, we're afraid to be with our elderly parents or our neighbors. We now go into grocery stores and we all look like we're bandits and about to rob them. And everything that we know as normal, as everyday life, now has truly been called into question. You know, throughout my entire career, I've always wondered, why is it that some people have so much and other people have so little, financially speaking? Why is it that some people suffer so much and the most unbelievable things have happened to them, and others seem to just go through life as if they just have a shield of protection around them and they never get sick, they never lose money, they always have a job, they have a good family, everything always goes right for them. And over all these years, I've really learned it has nothing to do if you're a good person or you're a bad person, or you're a smart person, or whatever. It's just called life. And I've also come to believe that those that get through the hardest time emerged with a sense of self and a sense of strength, and a sense of knowledge that those that have it really easy never attained. And we have to look at this holiday. We have to look at what emerged from the tremendous suffering, those that these holidays represent from Passover all the way to Easter. Look at the freedom, look at the faith, look at the worship that emerged from them and those times, that was suffering. That was truly suffering. Not that what we're experiencing now is not suffering. But look at what came out of it. And what really came out of it was faith, faith that everything happens for a reason. And in times like this that we're going through, I will forever believe from the bottom of my soul that the only thing that is going to get you through every single day is faith. Faith, prayer, the ability to just have faith that everything happens for the best. And we don't have to understand what that is and why that is. But we cannot lose faith. You know, the greatest loss you will ever experience, and what you're going through right now is the loss of faith, the loss of belief. Then I know so many of you write to me and you say, Suze if there really is a god, why would God have taken my only child away from me? My child just died off this virus. Suze, why would my mother and father both be taken? Why would God do that? Well, Easter is a great time to ask that question. Why did that have to happen, and look at what emerged from it? And who knows what will emerge from your life now? Now, obviously, I haven't lost anybody that close to me from this virus, but I have lost people close to me from other reasons, and at the time, I know it hurts, and I know there's really nothing anybody can do about it. But, it's really important that no matter how much you are hurting, and you should allow yourselves to hurt. But don't let that hurt turn in to the destruction of your faith. Because if you don't have faith, in my opinion, you are really a pauper. Like what do you have? And it's OK. Money can come and money can go, and then money can come back again. But it is so true that you can never take a penny with you. So what can you take with you? What can really get you through these hard times? And I will forever believe that faith is the true currency of life. It is the true currency that will get you through any and every situation. And I know it's going to get rough out there. I think it's rough now and it's going to get rougher, in that I don't know, the stimulus checks, are they going to come? Well, for some they may, and for many, they will not for months to come. Will unemployment be there for you? For some, maybe so, but for the majority of you, not for a while.So during these times, when it's really, really hard and you can't do anything about it right now, just have faith. This too will pass. Now, most people would say, Suze, you are the personal finance expert of America and you are sitting here on a podcast and you're telling people a time of their economic need, they just need to have faith. And I would say to them, oh, you betcha, that's what I'm telling them. Because without faith, you then start to become very bitter and angry, and then the main internal obstacle to wealth kicks in. Fear, shame and anger are the three internal obstacles to wealth, and I have talked to you many times about those emotions. This is the time, on Easter, on Passover, that you have to rise up and rise above everything that you see as an obstacle in your path. You have to go out there and you have to do what? You have to be strong and you have to not let anything that you believe in, take you down. You have to be strong enough that you never lose faith that you are going to get through this because I know you will. The problem is, do you know, do you know? And I need you to know that right now. I also find it absolutely amazing, amazing that all of us now especially during this holiday, where we're all used to getting together and celebrating in the places of worship and even, you know, the Pope. Everybody is in isolation now. And it seems like the only thing that is benefiting from all this is the world. The actual world itself. Smog is clearing up, the ocean seems awfully clear. Everything that we were polluting, by how we were acting every single day, is now being reversed. And then I start to think of myself, is that why this happened? Do things like this happen to help us, really, in the long run, because we were just polluting ourselves out of existence? That's what exactly we were doing to ourselves. So, I think about things like this. I think about what is the blessing in all of this happening? What is it? And sure, I know you cynics out there, I know there are people who listen to me, you're like, oh, easy for you to say that, Suze Orman. You have all this money, you don't have to worry about your bills, you live here, and all these things that you think. What do you know about me? What do you know about my past? Do you know what it was really like for me? When I saw that my parents didn't have a penny to their name and we couldn't pay the bills and there was no money. What do you know? So don't judge anybody, people. This is not the time for us to be judgmental of anybody. This is the time to love everybody, to love thy neighbor, to be compassionate, and to be understanding and not to be jealous and not to be bitter and not to go, you have something, I don't have something. This is the time to really look inside and take time for yourself to understand, all right, here I am right now, I never want to be like this again. So what can I do? What can I make sure that when this happens again, I don't find myself in this situation because it will happen again at some time? So, on this holiday, I want this to be a true celebration of life. I want this to be a true celebration of all that you really do have. Not that you wish you had or not that what you don't have, which is probably money to pay your bills. But you have life, you have vitality, you have Zoom, you have FaceTime, you have Skype. You do have still the ability to communicate. But, real communication, in my opinion, really has to be with yourself. A good talk with yourself about what do you want to do in the future? How do you want to act with money in the future? And what would you change about what you spend money on and your habits when it comes to money? Just something to think about. This is a really precious time, this is a really spiritual time because this is the time that we're all spending hours all by ourselves. And it's in those hours, those hours that faith and answers very possibly can emerge to show you a path that you need to be following. You know, last Thursday, I was telling all of you that today I really wanted to talk about financial abuse because I don't want this podcast to simply turn into what's happening in the market, what's happening with the virus, what should you do, what shouldn't you do? I don't want it to just be that. I want it to be so much more than that, but I understand that it needs to be that for now. And in fact, I'm pretty much, because of the thousands of questions that are coming in, I'm probably going to be doing Ask Suze Anything's on Thursday as well as Sunday so that I can really try to answer as many of your questions as possible. Because, boy, you have questions and you also have a lot of misunderstandings about what you can and cannot do with retirement accounts and things like that. So, on Thursday, when I said oh, let's talk about abuse, I forgot that it was going to be Easter. I forgot it was Passover, I forgot because I'm just so caught up in all of this. And then I was thinking, well, Suze, how do you tie in Easter, Passover and financial abuse? Really, I wasn't sure how to answer that question, but I am going to try to do it my best right now. I was just telling you that you need faith to really get through this time, but there are some people out there that have needed faith to get through the times that they are experiencing all the time. And those are the women, as well as men, who are financially, emotionally, physically and psychologically abused. And they live a life that none of you would ever want to live. And they live a life that they don't know how to get out of it. They don't know how to get help, they don't know where to go, they don't know and they are stuck and they are suffering. And they're not just suffering because of the virus, they are suffering because they are in a relationship with somebody who is really, really sick, who feels that by dominating them and physically hurting them and physically abusing them, that that's how they get their power. So, it's during times like this that as bad as you think you have it, imagine that this now has happened and you are an abused woman or man and now you are stuck in the house with the person who abuses you. And you are stuck there because you can't go out because of the virus and you don't know what to do. And now, you're being even more abused than you have ever been before. So, for those of you who have written to me and you're in that situation, I just want to tell you you have to keep your normal activities going as much as you can. You can not allow your social connections on the phone, on FaceTime, or anything to disappear. You have to try to maintain it as much as possible. Of course, if it's safe to do so. And for those of you who are in that circumstance, I urge you, I urge you to get help, and you can get help with the National Domestic Abuse Hotline, and you can call them at 800-799-7233. But if you're not even able to speak safely, you can log on to www.TheHotline.org, or text "love is" to 22522 and speak that way so that it's safe for you. And for those of you out there who know women and men who are in that situation right now, and you know they're being abused, reach out to them. Take this time to stay in touch with them in any and every way possible. I know you call and I know the abuser answers and says, sorry, they can't talk to you right now. Call back and call back. Do anything you can to reach out to that person. This is the time that as alone as you may feel, as worried as you may feel, there are others out there that are not only suffering financially, but they are suffering from the person that they are living with, and one day, they'll be able to figure out how to get out of it. But now it's really hard to do so because where do they go? They're afraid to go to a shelter because they might get the virus there. They're afraid to go to their family because they make get the virus there or give it to their parents. They're afraid, so this is the time of compassion. This is the time that we really always have to remember that others have it a whole lot worse than we do. So with faith, with love and with being strong, again, I promise all of you we will get through this. We will, and with the correct knowledge that you're going to find on the Women and Money podcast. And again, on Thursday, I will go back to a pure financial podcast, answering your questions and telling you things that you should do. But for now, I just wanted today to be a little different. I wanted to be a day where you just felt peaceful, simply because you are alive. Happy Easter, everybody, happy Passover, and we'll meet again on Thursday. In providing answers neither Suze Orman Media nor Suze Orman is acting as a Certified Financial Planner, advisor, a Certified Financial Analyst, an economist, CPA, accountant, or lawyer. Neither Suze Orman Media nor Suze Orman makes any recommendations as to any specific securities or investments. All content is for informational and general purposes only and does not constitute financial, accounting or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and financial advisors regarding your particular situation. Neither Suze Orman Media nor Suze Orman accepts any responsibility for any loss, which may arise from accessing or reliance on the information in this podcast and to the fullest extent permitted by law, we exclude all liability for loss or damages, direct or indirect, arising from use of the information. Ready to create your Will and Trust? Get Suze's Must Have Documents Special Offer at https://musthavedocuments.asksuzecommunity.com/. Take advantage of the free stream of the audiobook version of The Ultimate Retirement Guide for 50+ at https://www.suzeormanaudio.com/. To find the right Credit Union for you visit https://www.mycreditunion.gov/.