Walk Hand in Hand

Give Without Expectation

“It's not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.”

Mother Teresa

I watched the Hand-in-Hand telethon last night. Celebrities like Oprah, Julia, Stevie, Clooney, and many others came out in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville and San Antonio. They manned phone banks for people to donate money for those whose lives have been uprooted, and, in some cases, destroyed by hurricanes Harvey and Irma. I'm not one to tune into to celebrity bashes, or, for that matter, telethons, but I watched this one standing up in my TV room, glued to the screen. I watched because I so needed to see something positive coming out of the slow-motion catastrophe that has enveloped the United States for the last year. We have been steeped in negativity, hatefulness and disaster, and it was so good to see the great American heart rising like a phoenix from the ashes. The telethon raised more than 44-million dollars for hurricane relief—not a huge amount of money in the face of such an enormous disaster, but given with the great love and generosity of spirit that characterizes this country.

We have always seen ourselves as a nation of compassionate people—though we are, at times, unkind and arrogant in our treatment of others. Much of the world views us as spoiled teenagers. But, when push comes to shove, we respond by helping, and we do it without thought of self. So many scenes of people helping people have flashed across our television screens in the last two weeks—men slogging through filthy water to pull folks out of drowned cars, hauling wheelchair bound elders and their pets to safety, first-responders drawing drenched, terrified, exhausted people into helicopters or the backs of high-water vehicles. All of us can be very proud of the actions of ordinary citizens, firefighters, police, and National Guardsmen, who responded far beyond the call of duty to help people they did not know.

We've had scant reason to feel pride in our nation lately; we're flawed, and sometimes it seems like we embrace all the wrong things—racism, sexism, etc. But underneath all the headline-grabbing political chaos and outrage, there is still a country full of people who love each other and will help without being asked. It was good to see that on display last night. It gave me hope that all things, even disasters, can be used for good. In his book, The Light in the Heart, Roy T. Bennett wrote, “Help others without any reason, and give without the expectation of anything in return.” Good advice. Take heart, America. This is still a beautiful stretch of planet earth—both the land and its people.

                                                              In the Spirit,

                                                                 Jane