VOLUNTEERING

A few months back I was talking to one of the AID volunteers (actually I know only one). He was telling me about the organization, how it works, what is their goal and so on. Soon I caught his enthusiasm and was all ready to go out and help the less privileged and “be the change” as he puts it. I made big plans about doing this and that… two months later, I was still planning. I was waiting for the right time you see, a time when I would be comparatively free.
Isn’t this the story with almost all of us? We do want to help, but are so engrossed in our own lives that we just don’t have the time and energy left for anything else. Once in a while when we do stop to catch our breadth we realize that we aren’t doing what we wanted to and have given in to the mechanical lifestyle. And then we are filled with guilt with soon replaced by bigger plans and some more procrastination.
Now, what I don’t understand here is… who asked us to do big things. I mean let’s face it, not all of us can dedicate our lives to this. But we do want to help… don’t we? As my friend suggested to me that I could collect money… say put a few rupees whatever amount I can in a box everyday and then use that money for some worthy cause. And as I start to think of ways to utilize the money, I would be more involved with the volunteering work. Isn’t this simple?
But first I guess we need to change the way we think. All of us have our own share of joy and sorrow. And seeing someone else’s problems doesn’t make ours any smaller or less important, but it does help us appreciate what we have and use it wisely. We don’t need to go out and solve the poor man’s problems; we need to help him become self sufficient to solve his own problems. All we need to do is share a small part of whatever we have with someone who doesn’t have much. Even if we can bring a smile across the tired faces and make even a day easier for them, we would have done our bit.