For Good
- Mar 24
- 4 min read
Greetings, dear Reader! I'm going to start this week by saying that I've been remiss. Occasionally, I will encourage you to respond to whatever I've written in a particular week. Whenever anyone replies, I am over the moon. I love connecting with you. From now on, I want you to know that even if I don't send out a formal invitation, please feel free to respond in whatever way moves you. I would truly love to hear from you.
A couple of posts ago, I wrote a little bit about becoming more available. For me, with age comes reflection and introspection. There is a lot of pain associated with my being unavailable at different times in my younger years, and so unaware of its impact or even that I was being unavailable.
Recently, during some more soul searching, I asked my inner self what word or words did I want to use to describe myself and my life, especially now. The word relevant came up pretty quickly. Merriam-Webster says that relevant implies a traceable, significant, logical connection. OK, I like that. An expanded definition goes on to say it may additionally imply a fitness for or appropriateness to a situation or occasion. Pertinent is listed as a synonym.
All of the above describe what I am looking for and devoting myself to becoming or continuing. In my pursuit of being relevant I had the most wonderful experience a couple of weeks ago.
When I was living in the suburbs with three small children, I volunteered to deliver "Meals on Wheels". I was happy to do it, although I quickly realized that a lot of the recipients weren't as interested in the food as they were in the appearance of a friendly person on their doorstep. I was pleasant when I dropped off their meals, however, I wish I had taken more time to chat a bit with them. That's what they really wanted. I was also a member of a church that brought home-cooked lasagna to a women's shelter in Boston once a month. This population was in more need of actual sustenance and it opened my eyes as to how many people didn't/don't always know where their next meal was coming from. And this was not happening far from where I lived. One of the things about Tony Robbins, the author and motivational speaker and coach, that appealed to me the most was the formation of his Foundation. A couple of the key programs within it are initiatives to distribute food and household items to families in need and they partner with Feeding America.
When I was invited to join a group of nurses from the hospital where I work to spend an afternoon volunteering at The Greater Boston Food Bank, I jumped at the chance! The GBFB is part of Feeding America, a US-based, non-profit organization that has a network of over 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people. The statistics are all on their website (www.gbfb.org), but let me share just a few of these staggering numbers with you:
GBFB distributes approximately 90 million meals a year. The network includes 600 partner food pantries, meal programs, and direct distribution sites for 190 cities and towns in eastern Massachusetts.
One in three people experience food insecurity which has a huge impact on health-related costs.
The food is acquired through industry donations and financial contributions. By operating in an incredibly efficient manner, GBFB is able to provide two meals for $3.
I could go on and on, but let me tell you more of the history. Kip Tiernan is one Boston woman who made herself extremely relevant and was available for her community. She was born in 1926 in Connecticut and moved to Boston when she was 21 to study at the New England Conservatory. Having been brought up during the depression, she remembered her mother and grandmother providing food and clothing to unemployed men. Her early history included getting sober in AA meetings where she found community with homeless people in recovery. Instead of music, she became very involved in civil rights work. In 1974 she learned of a great need for services and shelters for women. The city's shelters were only available to men. She created Rosie's Place, solely for unhoused women and also started distributing food from her station wagon. This was the beginning of The Greater Boston Food Bank.
Our three hour shift started with a few statistics about the organization and a little bit of a pep talk. It felt like we were all eager to roll up our sleeves and get to work. There were probably 30 or 40 of us and within minutes we found ourselves on an assembly line, filling individual boxes with various food items. Some of us were on one side, constantly replenishing the cans, cartons, bottles, and bags that needed to go in the boxes while others were doing the actual packing. It was extremely well organized and things moved quickly. During COVID, the Bank realized that there was a need for supplies to be delivered directly to people's doorsteps and that has continued ever since.
There was a lot of heavy lifting and scuttling back and forth. We all had to keep an eye on the big picture and help each other out if someone needed assistance in replenishing a particular station. Even though we were addressing a need that feels like it "shouldn't" exist, the atmosphere wasn't sad or depressing. It felt good to be there.
This is not the only place where I intend to volunteer my time and presence. I'll be attending a luncheon this week at the Women's Lunch Place. This is another organization, founded in 1983, to meet the needs of women in crisis. They believe that Dignity is Everything. Human kindness is also a key factor in these two operations.
When I first started meditating, my teachers all emphasized the idea of taking in what was good and helpful and then, letting it flow back out to help someone else. Hands open instead of a closed fist. If we get something and only hold onto it tightly without sharing, whether it's information, knowledge, or even money, it will stop and possibly die with us. It also shuts us off from taking in even more. I want to open my arms, my heart, and my soul, especially as we try to make sense of our current political challenges. How can you feel available and relevant?
Sending Sparkles and Love Your Way!
Comments