Lend a Hand

Helping Out

“Lying, thinking

Last night

How to find my soul a home

Where water is not thirsty

And bread loaf is not stone

I came up with one thing

And I don't believe I'm wrong

That nobody

But nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone

Nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone.”

Maya Angelou (“Alone”)

The last few weeks, I've been helping folks who've had medical procedures and surgeries of one sort or another. It's both a privilege and a pain to be a care-giver, however close-up or remotely you do it. Sitting in hospitals and at bedsides seems like something that would not be exhausting, but somehow it is. One of the ways that I help others is by making hearty soups. I'm not the best at emptying bedpans or giving bed baths—but I can make a mean pot of soup!

When I have had problems and needed help, others have been there for me in big ways and small. From the gift of being hired when I was out of a job, to being loaned money without collateral when I had no rainy-day fund, to being slept beside when I hurt my back, to being fed when someone in my family died, people have come to my aid. I am blessed with friends who want to help me, so helping them back feels good.

There are so many people in this world who need just a small bit of help. Drive someone to a doctor's appointment, pick up some groceries, do a load of laundry, make a pot of soup. Little things can make a big difference. There's a woman down the street who lives next door to an older woman who walks with a walker. Her driveway is steep, so her neighbor brings her newspaper up from the bottom and puts it where she can more easily reach it. Small things matter. Most of all, we shouldn't feel abandoned when we are troubled and in need. A friend of mine is going through training to become a tutor in a literacy program. Another has just gone through peer counseling training. One friend volunteers in a palliative care unit, and another reads to kids in an elementary school classroom. We can all do something to help another, and when we do, our life is richer for having done it. Small acts of kindness provide “water that is not thirsty,” and a "bread loaf that is not stone." Maybe we can't change the world, but we can make it better for one another.

                                                              In the Spirit,

                                                                  Jane